Financial Watch:

AEGON Group Implementing Data Quality Solution from Group 1

Group 1 Software, a leading provider of customer relationship management (CRM)-enabling software solutions, announced it has begun implementing an enterprise-wide data quality solution for the AEGON Group's US operations. The jointly developed solution will enable the AEGON Group, one of North America's leading life insurance, annuities and retirement services organizations, to identify unique customers and the products and services they are utilizing across the company's domestic operating divisions. Group 1 is providing AEGON an accurate single customer view through cleansing, verification, standardization and consolidation of policyholder information. To date, Group 1's solution is being utilized by two of AEGON's operating units.

"We selected Group 1 as our partner in developing a customized, comprehensive solution as a primary component of our Enterprise Client System due to their methodology, product expertise, and flexibility," said Jerome Kleinhelter, a Director in Shared Services at AEGON. "Group 1 is working with the AEGON Group to develop and deliver data quality processes that will enable us to create a cross-divisional, single view of our customers featuring up to date policyholder information. Consequently, we are beginning to understand better our customer's needs with a goal of optimizing customer service and support."

"We're very pleased to have successfully teamed with AEGON on this one-of-a -kind solution for greater customer insight," said Bob Bowen, CEO of Group 1. "The substantial operational benefits and added policyholder intelligence AEGON will derive from this engagement highlights the value of our wideranging data quality and customer data integration engagements for the largest enterprises."

Group 1's data quality solutions are the cornerstone of all successful CRM initiatives. These applications enable businesses to ensure the integrity of customer and prospect data and enhance that information with valuable geographic and demographic intelligence.

Group 1 Software is a leading provider of customer relationship management (CRM)-enabling software solutions for data quality, marketing automation, customer relationship communications and direct marketing applications. Group 1's software systems and services enable 2,500 customers worldwide to market smarter by helping them find, reach and keep customers. Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Lanham, Maryland, Group 1's solutions are utilized by leaders in the financial services, banking, retail, telecommunications, utilities, e-commerce, and insurance industries. The company's customer base includes such recognized names as AT&T, Charles Schwab, Entergy, GEICO, L.L. Bean, and Wal-Mart. For more information about Group 1, visit the company's Web site at www.g1.com.

Brunswick Selects Informatica eProcurement

Informatica Corporation, a leading provider of enterprise analytic software, announced that Brunswick Corporation, a global manufacturer of recreational equipment such as pleasure boats, marine engines and fitness equipment, has chosen the Informatica eProcurement analytic application to help enhance the efficiency of its supply chain. By synthesizing price, delivery and quality data on all suppliers across its five divisions, Informatica eProcurement will help Brunswick develop more strategic sourcing strategies and drive maximum value across its supply chain.

Brunswick turned to Informatica eProcurement to achieve a complete and timely view of direct and indirect expenditures by part, supplier, plant, geographic region and a variety of other dimensionsTo deliver this inclusive analytic view, Informatica eProcurement will draw information from divisional purchase-order and accounts-payable systems and integrate it in near real-time with inventory, quality, warranty, customs, freight and logistics data from a wide range of enterprise systems.

Brunsick sourcing professionals can then gain a total cost picture into all economic aspects of sourcing, including the combined effect on overall costs of freight and forwarding, customs and duties, warranty claims, part rejections due to quality defects, and other dynamic cost drivers.

"It currently can take considerable time to get a limited snapshot of our total 'price'. Informatica eProcurement delivers a sophisticated and integrated approach to procurement, offering the ability to quickly and accurately evaluate sourcing costs across all parts and suppliers on an ongoing basis," said Chris Lemnah, sourcing e-commerce leader at Brunswick. "Armed with accurate and timely data, we will be able to better understand delivery, quality and other cost drivers across all divisions, more effectively leverage supplier relationships and continuously optimize our expenditures."

"Companies are finding that strategic sourcing, supplier relationships and procurement processes must be coupled with sound analytics," said Sanjay Poonen, vice president and general manager, Informatica Applications. "By helping relieve Brunswick's procurement professionals of the time-consuming process of gathering and synthesizing data from numerous diverse data sources, Informatica eProcurement can help them focus on higher-value business decisions involved in strategic sourcing."

Informatica eProcurement is a core application within Informatica Applications, the only integrated family of enterprise analytic applications that analyze a company's supplier, customer, partner and employee relationships across the entire value chainFocused on helping companies evaluate the effectiveness of procurement and supplier relationships, Informatica eProcurement applies hundreds of business metrics to evaluate material acquisitions, requisition approval rates, price variances, buy/sell volumes, on-time purchase order deliveries, vendor ratings and more.

Headquartered in Lake Forest, Ill., Brunswick Corporation is a $3.8 billion marketer and manufacturer of leading consumer brands including Mercury and Mariner outboard engines; Mercury MerCruiser sterndrives and inboard engines; Sea Ray, Bayliner, Maxum and Sealine pleasure boats; Baja high-performance boats; Boston Whaler and Trophy offshore fishing boats; Princecraft deck and pontoon boats; Life Fitness, Hammer Strength and ParaBody fitness equipment; Brunswick bowling centers, equipment and consumer products; and Brunswick billiards tables.

About Informatica

Informatica provides enterprise analytic software that enables decision makers to transform business insight into competitive advantage. Informatica provides the industry's only integrated set of analytic products, including a powerful data integration platform, a suite of cross value chain analytic applications, and soon the real-time delivery of personalized analytics via Web, wireless and voice. More than 1,300 customers, including 60 percent of the Fortune 100, rely on Informatica software to integrate, analyze and deliver critical information to managers, executives and other decision-makers to optimize business performance. The company's list of global customers includes 3Com, AMD, American Airlines, BMW, Borders Group, Chevron, Cisco, CNET, Deutsche Bank, eBay, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, MetLife, Motorola, Philips, Polo Ralph Lauren, Sprint, UBS, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Postal Service. For more information, call 800-970-1179, or visit the Informatica Web site at www.informatica.com.

Contact Jared Leavitt, TSI Communications, 415-808-9829, jleavitt@tsicomm.com.

Sand Technology Announces Share Repurchase Program

Sand Technology Inc announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program under which it may repurchase its Class A Common Shares from October 15, 2001 to October 15, 2002, subject to regulatory approval if applicable. The program would enable Sand Technology to repurchase up to a maximum of 659,160 of its outstanding Common Shares, being just less than 5% of such shares issued and outstanding as of October 9, 2001.

Under the plan, all purchases of Common Shares will be made in the discretion of the management of Sand Technology and will be made in the open market or privately negotiated transactions from time to time in compliance with the Securities and Exchange Commission's Rule 10b-18, subject to market conditions, applicable legal requirements and other factors. The repurchase plan does not obligate Sand Technology to acquire any specific number of shares and may be suspended at any time. The price which Sand Technology will pay for the Common Shares acquired by it will be the market price of the Common Shares at the time of acquisition.

Sand Technology presently believes that the current market value of its Common Shares does not adequately reflect the value of its business and its future business prospects. As a result, Sand Technology believes that its outstanding Common Shares represent an attractive investment and an appropriate and desirable use of its available funds.

Sand Technology has no special arrangement with any of its shareholders to repurchase their shares. To the knowledge of Sand Technology, no director, officer or other insider of Sand Technology, associate of an insider of Sand Technology or associate or affiliate of Sand Technology intends to sell Common Shares of Sand Technology during the period of the issuer bid.

About Sand Technology

Sand Technology, with headquarters in Montreal, Canada and offices in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, develops and markets the Nucleus high performance, scaleable software solutions for data mining, data marts, data warehousing and analytical CRM. Sand's Nucleus product suite brings revolutionary and patented technology to both IT and business users, allowing for highly accurate decision processing against atomic-level data-at a much lower total cost of ownership than traditional solutions. Supporting all major industries and vertical markets, including Retail, Finance, Healthcare, Research, Transportation, Telecommunications, Manufacturing and Government, Nucleus is successfully installed for strategic initiatives such as CRM, EIS, Supply Chain Analysis, Risk and Investment Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, and E-Business. Sand Technology has commercial relationships with IBM, Oracle, Compaq Computer Corporation, Microsoft, Brio Technology, and Information Builders. For more information, visit www.sandtechnology.com.

Contact Hellena Smejda of WordsWorth International, 815-736-9902, hsmejda@theramp.net.