INITIATIVES CORPORATION.

"WEB-CENTRIC" TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS

AS THE INTERNET BECOMES AN integral component in commerce and international trade, global companies face a new challenge: How can they be certain that the technology consultants they chose are both technically competent and understand their business needs?

"Be wary of so-called Internet technology companies that don't have true corporate application development experience," advises Peter Montadas, a founder of Initiatives Corporation, a Miami-based "Web-centric" computer consulting company with a proven track record. "Almost anyone can create a Web page, but do they understand how to truly develop systems? Can they develop a system that will integrate technology solutions with your business goals? Do they understand how your business processes will be impacted?"

Initiatives Corporation, a provider of premier Internet, client/server, and object-oriented products, consulting and training services, focuses on technology solutions for large and mid-sized companies. The company specializes in emerging technologies by partnering with market-leading vendors.

Initiatives is a premier solutions provider/partner with Microsoft, Allaire, Sybase, Cognos, and Mercury. The premier partner designation is a unique and highly sought-after distinction.

Just as impressive is Initiatives' client list, which includes some of the most widely known corporations in the area. Clients include Disney Consumer Products Latin America, Burger King, Pepsi-Cola Company South America and Caribbean, Ryder System, Ocwen, Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin, and Florida Power & Light.

"We provide 'Big-5' style consulting at very competitive rates, with the same quality, methodology focus, and work ethic," says Montadas, who, along with partner Robert Yerby, worked at "Big-5" firms prior to founding Initiatives in 1994.

"We're business people with technology specializations," says Joseph Franz, the other founding partner, formerly with EDS.

Initiatives was named two years in a row to the "Fast Track 40" list, an honor that goes to the fastest-growing companies as determined by the South Florida Business Journal. Revenues for Initiatives increased 338% year-over-year, giving it the No. 2 rank on the list for 1997.

The firm's five core competencies are as follows:

* Custom Application Development. The two primary market segments are providing individual specialist and complete customer solutions. Initiatives Corporation specializes in front-end development tools such as PowerBuilder, and VisualBasic and databases including Sybase, Oracle and Microsoft SQL server. The company's primary client/server development tools are extendable to the Web.

* BI/Data Warehousing. The company provides complete Business Intelligence and Data warehouse solutions, from the extraction of data from the source sytems, the database design and implementation, to the end user reporting and analysis tools. Currently, Cognos enjoys the distinction having the premier "Internet Portal" to access corporate data through the Internet and provide OLAP and Web reporting capabilities.

* Testing and Quality Assurance. The team specializes in implementing automated testing tools and methodology solutions. A full range of automated testing services is offered for ERP systems and Internet applications.

* Internet Application Development. The company is helping its customers make the transition from static Web pages to the creation of e-commerce, Web-centric strategic business systems with database integration, data warehousing and decision-support capabilities. Initiatives' Internet team specializes in extending business applications to the Web, providing real-time access to existing or new back-end business systems. The team has proven experience with Cold Fusion, Microsoft Interdev/Active Server Pages, Java, JavaScript, ISAPI, VBScript and HTML.

* ERP Alliance. The company recently formed an alliance with Progressive Business Solutions to provide ERP solutions to mid-tier clients.

"The reality is that today all of our solutions areas have an Internet component and an Internet vision," concludes Montadas. "We are an experienced technology solutions company that has become a Web-centric solutions firm."