McLaren Software Receives Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Status.

Company Recognized For Competencies in Information Worker Solutions and ISV/Software Solutions

HOUSTON -- McLaren Software, a leading independent software vendor specializing in engineering-centric applications that help companies meet their intellectual work management needs, today announced that Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") has awarded it Gold Certified Partner status in its Partner Program. The new status is based on McLaren's competencies in ISV/Software Solutions and Information Worker Solutions.

As a Gold Certified Partner, McLaren Software has demonstrated expertise with Microsoft technologies and a proven ability to meet customers' needs. Microsoft grants this partner status only to those companies that have demonstrated expertise in core competencies and have an ongoing commitment to developing solutions based on the Microsoft Windows([R]) platform.

"McLaren's designation as a Gold Certified Partner underscores our strong Microsoft skill set and ongoing commitment to providing customers with document management solutions for the information worker - solutions that fully leverage the Microsoft platform and supporting tools," said Paul Muir, CEO at McLaren. "Microsoft effectively owns the desktop for content creation and looking forward we anticipate a future where the Office Suite is the primary user interface for the intellectual worker."

Achieving Microsoft Gold Certified status required that McLaren possess a combination of employee technical certifications, multiple customer references and certification in one or more competencies. Microsoft's ISV/Software Competency certification, for example, is based on McLaren's technical expertise in integrating with Microsoft applications. More specifically, McLaren's Enterprise Engineer 3.5 product successfully met the criteria in a platform test for the ISV solutions program covering the Windows Client, MS Office, Web Services and the .Net Framework.

Karl Noakes, Director of the Partner Development Group at Microsoft, said: "By achieving expertise via the Microsoft Partner Programs' Competencies, our Partners are making a clear commitment to enhancing their capabilities. I'm delighted with McLaren Software's Gold Certified Partner status and their achievement of two Competencies, not only as this ensures due diligence for our customers, but also because recent IDC research found that partners who achieve multiple Competencies see a financial ROI."

McLaren's Information Worker Competency was awarded based on McLaren Software's content management expertise as demonstrated by Enterprise Engineer's built-in features to provide a complete information worker solution for managing the creation and use of business critical documents using the Microsoft Office Suite, including presentations, calculations and correspondences.

"McLaren Software's Enterprise Engineer application is the first to be backed by an Information Worker Solutions competency," said Noakes. "At Microsoft, we are committed to delivering new technologies and solutions for the information worker and we place tremendous value on our partners who deliver solutions that leverage the Microsoft platform in this space."

McLaren's Enterprise Engineer application suite allows information workers to focus on the processes involved with the creation, review and approval of intellectual property. This concept is what McLaren refers to as "Intellectual Work Management," or IWM. "Using IWM, management gains valuable insight into company operations. It is also able to better predict the delivery of intellectual work and plan for future projects," said Muir. "In short, IWM is a proactive concept that improves individual worker performance - not to mention the ability to reduce risk associated with the use of business critical documents."

About McLaren Software

McLaren Software develops engineering-centric intellectual work management applications for the oil and gas, process manufacturing, utilities, life sciences and engineering, design and construction sectors. McLaren helps organizations optimize their engineering design and asset change management processes to maximize the value in their engineering documents while mitigating the commercial risk associated with their use.

McLaren's Enterprise Engineer application suite supports the engineering process by providing a single point of control to manage the production and use of project content, including drawings, correspondence, procedures and specifications. Enterprise Engineer will help reduce costs, lower the risk of non-compliance, improve efficiency and accelerate project execution.

For more information, visit www.mclarensoftware.com.