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Technology Stocks : Baan (baanf) Lets TALK!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: gladman who wrote (814)	3/24/2000 12:55:00 AM
From: gladman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 821

BAANF News with MSFT... Thursday March 23, 6:36 pm Eastern Time Company Press Release SOURCE: Baan Company Baan and Microsoft Boost Sales Efficiency and Enhance Customer Relationships With European CRM Research Center New Copenhagen Center, Based on Compaq Hardware, to Provide Customers With the Best Consulting, Industry and Academic Expertise in CRM BARNEVELD, Netherlands and HERNDON, Va., March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Baan Company N.V. (Nasdaq: BAANF; Amsterdam: BAAN), a global provider of enterprise business solutions, today announced that it has teamed up with Microsoft and Compaq to create a new European Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Research center in Copenhagen. The new CRM Research Center is designed to help companies improve the efficiency of their selling processes, enhance their customer relationships and help the decision-making process as they look to the latest in enterprise software and hardware solutions to improve the bottom line through CRM. The new CRM Research Center will open on March 23, 2000. This announcement builds on Baan's existing strong relationship with strategic partners Microsoft and Compaq in the Customer Relationship Management arena, and today the three companies also announced plans to develop a network of similar Centers across Europe. ``Increasing numbers of European companies are looking to manage their customer relationships more effectively for increased customer retention and increased market share,' said Pierre de Robert, Vice President of BaanFrontOffice for Baan Company EMEA. ``The Baan/Microsoft/Compaq partnership is a strong proposition for Customer Relationship Management. Baan Company's integrated strategy for the front office and back office, and our strengths in web-based CRM are a perfect fit for Microsoft's 'The Business Internet' approach to Knowledge Management and CRM, and the underlying technology platform of Microsoft SQL Server, Windows2000 and Compaq hardware.' ``The combination of the Baan Front Office Suite and the Microsoft technology platform brings real value to the customer,' said Heinz M. Gras, Industry Manager CRM for Microsoft EMEA. ``It is important to demonstrate how Baan's solution take full advantage of the improvements of our newest products. This gives the customer the security to make the right decision faster.' The new CRM Research Center will be available to any European business, but will have a geographical focus on the Nordic countries. The Center will host demonstrations and regular seminars, in conjunction with major consulting organizations in the CRM arena, to show the concepts, technologies and benefits that more effective Customer Relationship Management can bring. These sessions will range from business strategy to in-depth technical sessions. The availability of a complete installed CRM solution onsite, based on Compaq hardware, will allow detailed presentations and discussions covering Baan CRM solutions (principally BaanFrontOffice and Baan E-Enterprise), Microsoft Windows 2000, SQL Server 7.0 and Office2000 software, and the necessary infrastructure to support these functions. Jan de Witte, Microsoft Alliance Manager EMEA, Baan Company said: ``The partnership and joint education training efforts between Baan and our partners will build skills and increase understanding of how CRM adds value throughout business. As competition increases through globalization, deregulation and other key market drivers, it will become increasingly important for companies to understand CRM and its functions to ensure that they gain the most from their customer relationships.' Baan, Microsoft and Compaq also expect universities, engineering schools and other academic institutions to visit the Center to learn from and contribute to expertise in CRM. The CRM Research Center will be located onsite with Baan Company offices in Herlev, near Copenhagen, which is also one of Baan's global development sites for the BaanFrontOffice CRM suite. With 50 Baan developers and some 20 Baan CRM consultants, the Herlev facility supports sales and implementation activities for CRM across the EMEA region.