Cadwalader, Wickersham &Taft Chooses Best Software'S Web-Native Best! Imperativ HRMS.

Business Editors &Technology Writers

RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 9, 2000

Award-Winning Solution to Help Leading International Law

Firm Transform Homegrown HR System into Strategic

Workforce Tool

Best Software, Inc. (Nasdaq: BEST), a leading provider of HR/payroll, fixed asset management, and planning and budgeting solutions, announced today that Cadwalader, Wickersham &Taft, one of the world's premier international law firms, has joined the growing number of information technology, health care, financial services, and manufacturing companies, among others, that have selected and installed Best! Imperativ HRMS(TM). The award-winning web-native solution will be used to manage HR and benefits activities for Cadwalader's nearly 1,000 employees enterprise-wide.

Representatives from Cadwalader's HR, benefits and IT departments spent three months evaluating solutions to replace its HR system, according to Albert Chan, Cadwalader's manager of systems and programming. The company has already implemented the core components of Best! Imperativ HRMS for tasks such as open enrollment and managing employee information.

&uot;Our primary criteria required a solution with an intuitive interface that was easy to deploy and had a robust back-end,&uot; said Chan. &uot;Best! Imperativ HRMS not only met these criteria, it also offered a solution that will enable us to tap into Microsoft SQL Server to link in other customized enterprise applications.&uot;

Bill Donnelly, senior vice president of sales and business development for Best Software, points to the Web-native architecture of Best! Imperativ HRMS as the key to Cadwalader's satisfaction with its new system.

&uot;Cadwalader needed a workflow model that would transform many of its HR and management tactics into an efficient and easy-to-use system,&uot; said Donnelly. &uot;By definition, a law firm's people are its assets. Therefore, anything that can help a professional services organization better manage its people is going to improve the company as a whole.&uot;

As Cadwalader moves into the second phase of the implementation, Chan said the firm's nearly 1,000 employees will be able to access their own records. Through the use of Best! Imperativ HRMS' employee self-service roles function, employees will not only be able to perform simple tasks such as updating personal information, but will benefit from streamlined activities, such as requesting vacation time.

&uot;The bottom line is efficiency and ease of use,&uot; said Chan. &uot;We selected Best! Imperativ HRMS because it is a 'killer application' that our employees will use and which will increase the value of our HR and benefit packages. When you are a company that depends on the intellectual capital of its employees as much as we do, you want to do everything possible to ensure employees are both happy and productive. We know Best Software can help us do that.&uot;

In 1999, Best! Imperativ HRMS received &uot;visionary&uot; and &uot;excellent&uot; ratings by the Gartner Group and META Group affiliate SPEX, respectively, as part of their assessment of the industry's leading HR and payroll solutions. It was named one of the ten best HR products of 1998 by HR Executive magazine and, in 1998, Microsoft and Business Finance Magazine also named it &uot;Best Complementary Mid-Market Application&uot; for its use of Microsoft technology in delivering tangible customer benefits.

Best! Imperativ HRMS holds &uot;Designed for Microsoft BackOffice&uot; certification, which confirms that it has leveraged key Microsoft BackOffice technologies and undergone rigorous, third-party testing. In addition, Best Software holds &uot;Partner&uot; status within the Microsoft Certified Solution Provider program, the highest level attainable.

About Cadwalader

Cadwalader, Wickersham &Taft is one of the world's leading international law firms, with offices in New York, Charlotte, Washington and London, and is the oldest continuous law firm in the US. It serves a diverse blue-chip client base, including most of the world's top financial institutions, undertaking business in more than 50 countries on six continents. More information can be found at its web site, www.cadwalader.com.

About Best Software

Best Software, with more than 50,000 customers worldwide and offices in the US, Canada and Europe, develops solutions which enable organizations to transform the way they manage their HR, fixed asset, and planning and budgeting processes. Its scalable, cost-effective solutions complement core financial management systems and support the full spectrum of Microsoft(R) platforms, including Windows(R) 95, Windows(R) 98, Windows NT(R) and BackOffice(R). For further information, call 800/368-2499, send an email to [e-mail] or access our web site at www.bestsoftware.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Best Software and the Best logo are registered trademarks and Best! Imperativ HRMS is a trademark of Best Software. Microsoft, Windows, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, and BackOffice are registered trademarks and SQL Server is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.