Crystal Decisions Receives Certification From Balanced Scorecard Collaborative, Crystal Decisions Designated as Balanced Scorecard Collaborative Certified - TM.

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

PALO ALTO, Calif. & LINCOLN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 17, 2001

Crystal Decisions and Balanced Scorecard Collaborative, Inc. today announced that Crystal Decisions has been designated as Balanced Scorecard Collaborative Certified(TM).

Under the terms of the certification, Crystal Decisions is designated as compliant with Balanced Scorecard Functional Standards(TM) as maintained by Balanced Scorecard Collaborative.

The certification is designed to eliminate confusion in the marketplace through educating suppliers and buyers as to the important elements of a Balanced Scorecard management system. The certification process consists of a demonstration of the product by the application provider, a documentation review, customer interviews, and application testing by the Balanced Scorecard Collaborative.

Dr. David P. Norton, president of Balanced Scorecard Collaborative, said, "We have developed the Balanced Scorecard Collaborative Certified Program based on Balanced Scorecard Functional Standards to ensure that the Balanced Scorecard name maintains meaning, and that any investment made in associated software retains its value."

Users of certified Balanced Scorecard applications are assured that those applications are compliant with Balanced Scorecard Functional Standards, and can thus be used as the foundation of a strategic management system based on the Balanced Scorecard.

Ms. Laura M. Downing, vice president of Balanced Scorecard Collaborative, said, "The Crystal Decisions Balanced Scorecard application template met the Kaplan-Norton standards and simplifies the steps that a user needs to complete to find critical information in their organization. The application template is easy to navigate and puts the strategy right at your fingertips."

"Crystal Decisions' Balanced Scorecard application template provides an enterprise view of an organization's overall performance, and delivers the ability to measure success from various perspectives," said Andrew Handford, vice president of product management at Crystal Decisions. "This certification is a major step for Crystal Decisions, and provides assurance that our Balanced Scorecard application template not only meets the strict qualification criteria of the industry, but provides the functionality required to deliver a distinct competitive advantage to our customers."

Crystal Decisions Balanced Scorecard application template focuses on an organization's strategy: how to envision what is needed and how to achieve it. Instead of traditional financially based measurement systems that only provide a historical perspective, the application template looks at the company's future goals and measures the success of achievement from various perspectives, usually but not limited to, financial, customer, internal, learning and growth). Qualitative and quantitative sources are integrated for a successful, balanced picture.

Balanced Scorecard Functional Standards were announced on September 30, 1999 by Balanced Scorecard Collaborative, Inc., the organization that facilitates the worldwide awareness, use, enhancement, and integrity of the Balanced Scorecard as a value-added management process. The standards form the basis for certifying software from suppliers seeking to comply with the methodology of Dr. Robert S. Kaplan and Dr. David P. Norton, creators of the Balanced Scorecard concept. The full set of standards can be viewed at www.bscol.com

About Crystal Decisions

Crystal Decisions, formerly Seagate Software, is a privately held Seagate company owned by a group of investors that include Silver Lake Partners and Texas Pacific Group. Crystal Decisions is an information infrastructure company, which provides award-winning reporting, analysis, and information delivery solutions. The company's world-class products are used by millions of customers in thousands of companies worldwide and include, Crystal Analysis, Crystal Enterprise, Crystal Reports and Holos. Crystal Decisions can be found on the Web at www.crystaldecisions.com.

About Balanced Scorecard Collaborative, Inc.

Balanced Scorecard Collaborative, Inc. (BSCol) is a new kind of professional services firm that facilitates the worldwide awareness, use, enhancement, and integrity of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) as a value-added management process. Founded and led by the creators of the Balanced Scorecard concept, Drs. Robert Kaplan and David Norton, BSCol provides Strategy-Focused Organization and Balanced Scorecard excellence through consulting, conferences, training, publishing, action working groups, certification, partnerships, and online services that deliver know-how to global audiences. Join BSC Online free for the latest insight and resources at bscol.com.

About the Balanced Scorecard

The Balanced Scorecard is an organizational framework for implementing and managing strategy at all levels of an enterprise by linking objectives, initiatives, and measures to an organization's strategy. The scorecard provides an enterprise view of an organization's overall performance by integrating financial measures with other key performance indicators around customer perspectives, internal business processes, and organizational growth, learning, and innovation. Since the concept was introduced in1992, Balanced Scorecards have been implemented at corporate, strategic business unit, shared service functions, and even individual levels at hundreds of organizations-in both the private and public sectors-worldwide.

Crystal Decisions, Crystal Reports, Crystal Enterprise, Crystal Analysis, Holos and Access. Analyze. Report. Share. are either a registered trademark or trademark of Crystal Decisions Inc. Seagate is a registered trademark of Seagate Technology, LLC. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.