Great Plains Signs Worldwide OEM Agreement with Knosys

Great Plains announced the signing of a worldwide OEM agreement with Knosys Inc, a leading analytical tools vendor on the Microsoft SQL Server platform, to embed the analytical functionality of the ProClarity Analytical Platform into its products based on Microsoft SQL Server. Great Plains will integrate the analytical functionality of the ProClarity Analytical Platform seamlessly into Enterprise Reporting, its solution for sophisticated financial consolidation and group reporting, as well as FRx Desktop and FRx Professional, the standard for midmarket financial reporting. Additionally, ProClarity will be integrated with Great Plains Dynamics, Solomon IV and eEnterprise, its e-business back office solutions.

The ProClarity Analytical Platform allows users to build custom analytical applications around Microsoft SQL Server OLAP/Analysis Services. The pre-packaged OLAP Client, ProClarity, can be customized using Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). The ProClarity Analytical Platform can be used to create custom solutions to meet the specific analysis needs of a wide variety of business decision makers. ProClarity Analytical Platform has a fully open, extensible and documented Windows DNA 2000/COM architecture. The solution enables business decision makers to easily explore complex information, helping them visualize trends, patterns and relationships within Great Plains solutions -- allowing them to make better business decisions.

Great Plains Enterprise Reporting seamlessly combines data from disparate locations and allows consolidation of unlimited departments, markets and subsidiaries from multiple databases and countries. Enterprise Reporting enables rapid development and modification of reporting relationships and encompasses legal as well as financial and operational reporting.

FRx is an advanced, graphical reporting tool that works with leading back office systems, including Great Plains Dynamics, eEnterprise and Solomon IV. It consolidates financial information from multiple databases, platforms, and servers. Additionally, FRx imports key information such as budgets or statistical data from spreadsheets.

Great Plains' e-business solutions, Dynamics, Solomon IV, and eEnterprise are designed to meet the broad spectrum of business application needs of the midmarket. The solutions are designed for businesses that are standardizing on Microsoft technologies. These e-business solutions electronically interconnect communities of customers, suppliers and employees and provide rapid implementation, ease of use and flexibility.

"By integrating the powerful analytic functionality of ProClarity Analytical Platform into our reporting and business management solutions, it will be easier for our customers to access and analyze mission-critical data for more informed decision-making," said Lloyd Nelson, general manager Enterprise Reporting at Great Plains.

"The agreement between Great Plains and Knosys is an excellent example of two Microsoft platform developers partnering to provide enhanced analytic capabilities to the extensive midmarket community," said John Eng, Lead Product Manager for SQL Server at Microsoft Corporation. "By delivering analysis solutions on the SQL Server platform, Great Plains and Knosys are empowering customers to make more informed business decisions, ultimately enabling them to be more responsive to customers, increase profitability and remain competitive."

The ProClarity Analytical Platform will be released initially with Great Plains Enterprise Reporting in the fourth calendar quarter and will be priced at $500 per seat.

Founded in 1995, Knosys is a privately held company headquartered in Boise, Idaho, with European headquarters in the Netherlands. ProClarity Analytical Platform provides a completely open, flexible and extensible front-end platform for the development of custom analytical applications around the Microsoft .NET platform. Knosys is a Microsoft Certified Solution Provider and a Microsoft Data Warehousing Alliance 2000 Partner. More information about Knosys Inc can be found at www.knosysinc.com.

Great Plains offers e-business solutions that interconnect business communities. These e-business solutions automate processes among financials, distribution, enterprise reporting, project accounting, electronic commerce, human resources and payroll, manufacturing, sales and marketing management, and customer service and support functions. Great Plains' solutions are sold and implemented by a unique worldwide network of independent partner organizations that share the company's commitment to lasting customer relationships. Named four times to the "Top 100 Companies to Work for in America" list, Great Plains has more than 2,000 team members worldwide. More information about Great Plains can be found at www.greatplains.com.

Contact Kim Albrecht, Public Relations of Great Plains, 701-281-3735, kalbrech@greatplains.com or Angie Mogensen, Public Relations of Knosys Inc, 208-344-1630 x133, amogensen@knosysinc.com.