Agresso North America changes name to UNIT4 Agresso

New name and brand identity marks successful year despite economy and sets stage for further expansion into North American market

DALLAS, TX and VICTORIA, BC, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ – Agresso North America (www.AgressoNA.com), a leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) software company, is echoing the announcement of its European parent of a new name and brand identity. Starting today the North American subsidiary will begin transitioning to the name UNIT4 Agresso. All companies in the group worldwide are rallying under the name UNIT4, and preparing for the group’s next stage of growth. The name’s unveiling marks a pivotal year for the North American company and signifies a stronger focus on its unique message to the marketplace: embracing change.

“The timing for the name change was ideal,” remarks Shelley Zapp, president of UNIT4 Agresso. “We have momentum right now. The recession drove home the point that organizations must be able to manage in a rapidly changing environment. The market is primed; our customers are enthusiastic about their ability to manage change, and our staff is more focused than ever on delivering these capabilities.”

Recent studies from CFO Research(1) and IDC(2) provide independent evidence of just how much it is costing organizations to keep rigid ERP systems up-to-date; the cost of making changes plus the costs of the resulting disruption are dwarfing the original investment in license fees and maintenance. This situation is creating fertile ground for Agresso’s unique feature of post-implementation agility – the ability for business users to make changes to the ERP system quickly and easily, after implementation, without involving IT or external consultants.

After successfully navigating a challenging economic environment, the company has reason to celebrate the marketplace’s growing interest in its message to embrace change. The company signed significant deals in the latter half of 2009, including such names as the Louisiana Supreme Court, Meyers Norris Penny LLP, and King County Housing Authority. It also saw successful go-lives at Emeritus Senior Living, Township of Langley, the City of Ventura, CA and the Houston Zoo, proving the company’s ability to implement its ERP solution reliably on time and on budget.

“This move will expand our profile in the North American marketplace,” continues Zapp. “Emphasizing our membership in a group that is a top six mid-market ERP software player globally brings reassurance. Our local market knowledge and expertise is backed by a solid, global foundation. We can leverage our international presence to bring experience to the North American market in areas such as IFRS compliance.”

The company plans a full launch of the new name and brand at the North American Agresso Connects User Conference in Vancouver BC in May 2010.

About UNIT4 Agresso

UNIT4 Agresso in North America (www.AgressoNA.com) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UNIT4, a $507 million enterprise resource planning (ERP) company and a top six mid-market ERP software player globally. Agresso Business World is widely acknowledged as the business software solution that delivers the lowest Total Cost of Change. This is achieved thanks to its VITA(TM) architecture which allows for an unlimited amount of ongoing, post-implementation changes without the typical external IT costs and intervention that nets billions of dollars in revenue to the market leaders.

Over 2,900 companies and organizations in 100 countries deploy Agresso Business World for both operational support and strategic management. The company’s role-based, Web Services and Services-Oriented Architecture (SOA) enabled solutions include: Financial Management, Human Resources and Payroll, Procurement Management, Project Costing and Billing, Reporting and Analytics, Business Process Automation, and Field Services and Asset Maintenance.

The names of actual companies or products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Agresso Business World, BLINC, and VITA are registered trademarks of UNIT4.

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    (1) CFO Research Services. The High Cost of Change for ERP: What Does It
        Cost to Keep Up to Date? CFO Publishing Corp., 2009

    (2) Fauscette, Michael. Modifying and Maintaining ERP Systems: The High
        Cost of Business Disruption. IDC, 2009

SOURCE Agresso