ULTIMATE SOFTWARE COMPLETES BETA CYCLE FOR ULTIPRO 5.5.

Ultimate Software (NASDAQ:ULTI), a provider of Web-based payroll and workforce management solutions, has completed the beta cycle for UltiPro version 5.5 and delivered it to customers in the Early Adopter program. The new release is designed to benefit both the company's Enterprise customers and business service providers (BSPs) that co-brand UltiPro. UltiPro 5.5 includes breakthrough Distributed Process Management capabilities and enhanced functionality for managing employees over the Web.

"UltiPro 5.5 is a landmark release for Ultimate Software because of its Distributed Process Management capabilities," said Scott Scherr, CEO, president and founder of Ultimate Software. "This new functionality dramatically improves the economics of delivering services over the Web for companies that manage hundreds or thousands of payrolls."

UltiPro 5.5 automates processes to reduce the amount of human intervention required to complete complex jobs by tying processes together. With this Distributed Process Management functionality, the company's customers can distribute payroll responsibilities to remote offices and allocate work such as time entry, payroll processing and report generation over the Web. Its BSP customers that provide payroll and employee management services to many businesses can also leverage this new functionality to automate these processes. Customers can process payroll from start to finish right from a Web browser, from employee time entry, to generating checks and posting the payroll. Users can also print standard reports from the Web to use, for example, for pre-check auditing, reconciling payrolls and filing for government compliance.

To meet the operational and business process automation requirements of its customers, Ultimate Software used leading technologies such as:

* Microsoft's Component Object Model (COM)

* Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ)

* Extensible Markup Language (XML)

* Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)

* Web Services Definition Language (WSDL)

"UltiPro's new Distributed Process Management functionality has significant business value for our customers, particularly those looking to decentralize and distribute responsibilities over the Web," added Scherr. "Plus, this technology is so effective in streamlining Web services that it has enabled Ultimate Software to introduce a new service-based model at a very competitive price. Customers can now have UltiPro on an in-house license basis or delivered as a service through the Web. We call our Web delivery model Intersourcing, and we've been able to price the monthly service at $5 per employee/per month."

About Ultimate Software

Headquartered in Weston, Florida, Ultimate Software is a provider of Web-based payroll and workforce management solutions, and its mission is to become the premier infrastructure provider of Internet payroll and workforce management. The company markets UltiPro solutions to businesses that want in-house control of their applications and offers Intersourcing, a hosted UltiPro solution, to businesses that prefer an outsourced, services approach without sacrificing control. UltiPro customers can empower their entire workforce -- executives, managers, administrators and employees -- and centralize collaborative information sharing through UltiPro's Web portal. Ultimate Software employs approximately 440 professionals and its customers include The Arizona Diamondbacks/Phoenix Suns, Benihana Restaurants, The Container Store, Elizabeth Arden, Omni Hotels, Ruth's Chris Steak House and Trammell Crow Residential.

Ultimate Software can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.ultimatesoftware.com/.

For more information, call 614/891-7070.