MARCH 1998 GLOBAL UPDATE

FROM GLOBAL BUSINESS SYSTEMS, PART OF MISYS PLC

We had an excellent 1998 Global Reseller Conference. Over 60 Resellers attended, some from as far afield as USA, Iceland, Holland and Singapore. The day was enjoyed by all and we certainly enjoyed the opportunity of meeting you.

As part of the day we presented the Reseller of the Year Award. The criteria for choosing Abaca Systems as our winner was:

Abaca has developed an excellent, highly focused vertical market solution
They work closely with our Marketing Department to generate leads
They convert the leads they receive regularly
They work in partnership with Global to drive the product forward

Abaca Systems, represented at the conference by Alan Cartwright and Graham Dickinson, were pleased to receive the award with the accompanying magnum of Veuve Cliquot. I am sure you will join me in congratulating Abaca on receiving this award.

Thanks are due to the Global staff who put a lot of effort in to make the Workshops, Think Tanks and Exhibition so successful. A special thank you to Alan Goodwin for making this conference so memorable.

Finally, thank you to all of you who attended and gave us plenty of ideas to consider. The staff at Global enjoyed the opportunity of meeting with so many of you and as per the theme of the conference, are looking forward to 'working together' with you over the coming year.

Lorna E Graham
Managing Director
Global Business Systems

SALES

Global 3000 V4.4

Within hours of its release at the Conference, the first two end user copies of Global 3000 V4.4 were shipped. APH ordered an 8-12 user ledgers system for a new site running on GSM (NT) and Abaca upgraded an existing 4.3 ledgers & distribution site from 12 to 24 users also running on GSM (NT).

Special Offers

Sales bulletins confirming the Global 2000 and 3000 promotions announced at the reseller conference should now be with you (bulletins GS164 and GS166). Both offers run until 31 May 98 so there is plenty of time to work on your user base.

Many of you have already placed orders for Payroll re-gens at the reduced copy charge announced in bulletin GT856. Don't forget, the Payroll promotion ends on 31 March so make sure your orders are with us before then.

Price Capping

A permanent change to the price list is the capping of Global 3000 Cash Manager and Asset Register and Global 2000 Cash Manager at the 4-7 user price band. It provides an excellent opportunity for additional module sales to your user base. (Bulletin GS165)

Competitive Pricing

We have produced a spreadsheet graph showing comparative pricing for Global 3000 and many of its competitors. The pricing is for 1-40 user accounts and distribution system , showing the incremental price seat by seat. Please contact your account manager if you want a copy.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

During February much effort was spent on Quality Control for Global 3000 4.4 and achieving the target release date.

QC of Year-End changes for Payroll is in progress and on target for release after the budget. Please ensure that zap PR6466 is applied to all your end user sites before closing the final period of the 1997/98 tax year. The zap is available from the BBS. Details of year-end preparation can be found in bulletin GT856 which was issued in February.

Karoline Caird joined the support team as an applications support consultant at the beginning of March. She has been working for the past 6 months at our Bourne End office for Marketing.

TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

The new Global System Manager (Windows NT) Global Client which functions as a Console Application, allowing a "full screen mode" is available for evaluation. This new module, GLCONS.EXE, a "slot-in" replacement for GLOBAL.EXE, is available on the BBS. In addition, the functionality of the V2.2 GUI has been incorporated into GLOBAL.EXE. A new release of the Global System Manager (Windows NT) BACNAT software will be available soon.

The first evaluation version of the Speedbase SQL Server Gateway was demonstrated at the Reseller Conference.

With the completion of the 32-bit Speedbase Window Manager, the 32-bit Speedbase Development System has been released internally to the Global 3000 Development Team. Work continues to produce an external beta release of 32-bit Speedbase.

APPLICATIONS DEVELOPMENT

February saw the completion of the long awaited Global 3000 version 4.4, which was released to schedule on 25 February 1998; place your orders now!

Payroll code for the new tax year (i.e. 1998-99) is now in Quality Control and due for release on 19 March. A bulletin announcing its features and a schedule of events has been distributed. You may order your copy now to beat the rush - please remember that there are changes required for the end of this tax year (i.e. 1997-98).

Remaining development attention is now heavily focused on the next version of Global 3000 and evaluation of the new 32-bit development system. Design for EMU Stage 1 changes (converting from one EMU currency to another) is almost complete, and design for EMU Stage 2 (full multi-currency for Global 3000 Cash Manager, Debtors and Creditors) has started.

We have amalgamated all the Global 3000 Top Ten ideas submitted by Global 3000 Club members. For those Club members who have not yet responded to our recent request for priorities - please hurry up as the Development Team are champing at the bit to get coding! City office invitation Please don't forget our offer of a visit to either the City or Bourne End offices to discuss technical, applications or support issues. If you wish to take advantage of this offer please fax or email Richard Andrews attaching an agenda of items you wish to discuss.

MARKETING

The Global marketing department is still recovering from last month's conference at Moor Hall. Particular thanks are due to Karoline Caird who coordinated most of the promotional items that proved so popular.

Softworld in Accounting & Finance at Earl's Court followed hard on the heels of the conference. The event has been running for several years now and, judging by the small number of visitors, may be nearing the end of its useful life. That said, a number of good leads were received - particularly for Landed Costs. Global 3000 has a real edge here that needs to be exploited. Incidentally, it was good to see several Global resellers at the event, keeping in touch with industry trends and what the competition are pushing.

The next two months see a number of joint marketing campaigns. Reseller of the Year Abaca Systems' campaign in February yielded 25 leads for their Packaging 3000 product, several looking very promising. Also, the ground is prepared for future campaigns when other companies will be in the buying frame. Currently we are engaged in a campaign for TCS aimed at distributors and importers in their area, and preparing for other campaigns with Barcellos (laundries) and Universal (manufacturing). CBA are also preparing a campaign for later this year. Contact Alan Goodwin if you would like to build a pipeline (for leads, not oil).

Congratulations are due to Bob Bradley of Universal who has been appointed to the BASDA working party set up with Government approval to produce a compliance specification for EPOS systems. This will initially concentrate on compliance with security, accounting requirements and VAT regulations. An EMU compliance spec for retail systems will follow when the Government's position is clarified. Other members of the working party are The Treasury, HM Customs & Excise, Tesco and Pegasus. Bob would be very pleased to receive any comments or suggestions regarding the compliance spec. Bob can be contacted on (tel) 01264 782122, (fax 01264 782128) or email

The new-style Global web site was on show (and on CD) at the conference, and several resellers expressed an interest in building two-way links to it. Contact Alan Goodwin at Bourne End if you would like to do this.

STOP PRESS

Microsoft have just announced that Global Business Systems' Partner status has been renewed for another year. Microsoft Solution Provider Partner status is conferred on very few suppliers and we will be maximising the marketing and technical benefits it provides over the coming months. Details will be announced in a bulletin shortly. Thanks to all our technical and sales staff who passed the necessary exams!

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