---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Florida SunFlash SIX LEADING ACCOUNTING/BUSINESS MANAGEMENT PACKAGES MOVE TO SUN SunFLASH Vol 24 #10 December 1990 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note that a brief description of the six vendors follows the press release. - johnj ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Demonstrates Sun's Growing Momentum in Business Markets MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. --December 11, 1990-- As part of its rapid expansion into business markets, Sun Microsystems announced today that six leading software vendors have developed versions of their corporate accounting/business management application packages for Sun's SPARC(R)-based workstations and servers. The vendors include State Of The Art, SBT, Oracle, MCBA, FourGen and Armor. Four of these companies now ship SPARC versions of their products and two will begin shipping their products within the next three months. In addition, top vendors ASK Computer and RealWorld are working on products for SPARC. The move to Sun, the industry's leading manufacturer of UNIX(R) systems, demonstrates the increasing acceptance of UNIX in the corporate world. Easy-to-use graphical interfaces like OPEN LOOK(R), offered by Sun, and ever-decreasing prices for powerful workstations are helping move these networked systems into markets previously dominated by minicomputers and networks of PCs. For example, Sun has seen its sales grow quickly in areas like banking, insurance, trading floors and law firms. The new products for Sun are large software systems containing many modules for functions such as accounts payable/receivable, payroll, general ledger, inventory control, order entry, sales analysis, purchasing, fixed assets, MRP and other critical needs. Potential customers of Sun systems running the accounting/business management applications include Fortune 500 corporations as well as medium- and small-sized businesses. Together, the six third-party software vendors claim an installed base of more than 200,000, thus giving Sun access to potential new customers moving to UNIX. Besides direct sales forces, the vendors distribute their product via a collective network of more than 7,000 value-added resellers, many of whom might offer Sun hardware and bundled software to end users. "This opens up many new opportunities for Sun," stated Ed Zander, vice president of marketing at Sun. Businesses in virtually any field have a need for computerized accounting/business management solutions. For example, Zander expects the SPARC-based systems to reach such diverse markets as wholesalers, manufacturers, retailers, transportation and service companies worldwide. "We believe that RISC-based workstations bridge the gap between personal computers and traditional minicomputer solutions," said Jennifer Lee, vice president of sales for State Of The Art. "Support of the SPARC platform enables us to increase market penetration by allowing our M.A.S 90 EVOLUTION/2 product to address the needs of larger, microcomputer-based companies." "We are very excited about our relationship with Sun," said George Luntz, president and chief operating officer of MCBA. "Many companies that Sun traditionally serves with its technical workstations -- especially manufacturers -- need accounting and MRP II software, which we supply. Additionally, MCBA can play a big role in the expansion of Sun's presence in the commercial marketplace." SPARC is a registered trademark of SPARC International, Inc. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based on an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. OPEN LOOK and UNIX are registered trademarks of UNIX System Laboratories, Inc. All other products or services mentioned in this document are identified by the trademarks or service marks of their respective companies or organizations. PR contact: Whitney Greer (415) 336-0598 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All software applications are being ported to the Open Windows environment. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STATE OF THE ART -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- M.A.S 90 EVOLUTION/2, which received the highest overall PC Week Corporate Satisfaction rating, consists of 13 accounting and financial management applications including General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable and Payroll. State Of The Art sells its software through more than 7,000 certified public accountants and 1,500 value added resellers. M.A.S 90 EVOLUTION/2 is now available on the SPARC platform. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SBT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SBT's Database Accounting Library, the best-selling personal computer accounting spftware, uses dBase IV to run 14 accounting modules that stand alone or integrate to manage basic accounting functions or industry-specific applications. The Sun version of the core modules, including General Ledger, Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable, are expected to be available before the end of 1990. SBT has a network of more than 3,500 resellers in 70 countries. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ORACLE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oracle Financials is a high-end family of accounting software applications including General Ledger, Purchasing, Accounts Payable, Receivables, Revenue Accounting, Fixed Assets and Personnel. The company developed these integrated applications -- which are now in use on Sun equipment around the world -- using the ORACLE RDBMS and Oracle's own fourth generation development tools. Oracle Financials is ranked third in market share of all accounting software vendors. The company sells its products through direct sales organizations in 92 countries around the world. MCBA -- This company's CLASSIC software consists of 19 integrated, modular packages providing business solutions for accounting, manufacturing and distribution applications. The SPARC version of CLASSIC, demonstrated at the recent COMDEX, is expected to be available the first quarter of 1991. MCBA, which was established in 1974, sells through 1,700 distributors and resellers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FOURGEN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The FourGen Accounting System, based on Informix's Fourth Generation Language, is designed to run in any open systems environment and supports distributed data processing. The program, which features SQL access to information, is now available on the SPARC platform. FourGen is supported via more than 125 resellers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ARMOR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Premier accounting is a multi-user business and accounting system consisting of 14 interactive modules. The software is popular among retail, wholesale, building service contractor, small manufacturing and hospitality businesses. Premier is currently available on SPARC. Armor sells its product through a network of 3,000 resellers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RealWorld: RealWorld, rated the number one accounting software by readers in the September 1990 issue of VAR Business magazine, is expected to announce a port date the first quarter of 1991. ASK Computer: ASK Computer Systems plans to port a new generation of financial and manufacturing applications to the Sun platform sometime in 1991. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ For information send mail to info-sunflash@sunvice.East.Sun.COM. Subscription requests should be sent to sunflash-request@sunvice.East.Sun.COM. All prices, availability, and other statements relating to Sun or third party products are valid in the U.S. only. Please contact your local Sales Representative for details of pricing and product availability in your region. Descriptions of, or references to products or publications within SunFlash does not imply an endorsement of that product or publication by Sun Microsystems. John McLaughlin, SunFlash editor, flash@sunvice.East.Sun.COM. (305) 776-7770.