QAD Drives Innovation in the Manufacturing Market, Helps Customers Achieve Lean Manufacturing Through Flexibility of Progress Application Infrastructure Technologies

CARPINTERIA, Calif. & BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--QAD Inc. (NASDAQ:QADI), a global provider of enterprise software applications and services, and Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS), a provider of leading application infrastructure software to develop, deploy, integrate and manage business applications, today jointly announced they have expanded their longstanding Technology Alliance to allow QAD to globally license and distribute a wide range of application infrastructure products from Progress Software. QAD has been an Application Partner¹ of Progress Software for more than 20 years.

Under the terms of the expanded agreement, QAD and Progress may extend their joint offering beyond the Progress® OpenEdge® application platform to include Progress Sonic ESB® (Enterprise Service Bus), Progress Actional® for SOA management, the Progress EasyAsk® Natural Language and Query product, and other best-in-class technologies that deliver the reliability, high service levels and enterprise-wide visibility that a lean manufacturing environment demands.

With access to a broader portfolio of Progress technologies, QAD is on course to deliver on its vision of shaping the “Perfect Lean Market” for manufacturing by helping their customers leverage their existing IT investment. QAD and Progress customers alike stand to benefit from this alliance as the two companies continue to focus on their respective core competencies, share market intelligence and product development plans, and ensure that industry-leading technology will be available when needed. For example, Progress' Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) capabilities bring enhanced functionality into QAD Enterprise Applications. Taken together, this enables global manufacturers to better manage supply and demand chains, enterprise assets, transportation and logistics, while streamlining communication and improving manufacturing productivity.

“In today’s rapidly evolving business marketplace, customers seek efficiency and competitive advantage. It is vital that QAD and its key technology providers work closely to create better, more robust and flexible business solutions,” said Pam Lopker, president of QAD. “We view Progress as an important component in our aggressive R&D strategy, and we expect customers will benefit from the investments both our companies are making to deliver on our vision of ‘The Perfect Lean Market.’”

QAD embeds Progress’ technology in its core product offering, QAD Enterprise Applications, which are in use at more than 5,500 customer sites in over 90 countries.

“QAD has carved out a significant market-leading position with manufacturing companies around the world with their powerful and flexible enterprise software solutions. QAD, and their customers, will benefit from the high reliability, low administrative overhead and faster application development provided by the Progress best-in-class technologies,” said Dave Ireland, president of the OpenEdge Division for Progress Software. “With QAD’s deep-rooted industry knowledge and our open technologies, QAD’s customers will gain a significant market advantage.”

About QAD

QAD is a leading provider of enterprise applications for global manufacturing companies. QAD applications provide critical functionality for managing manufacturing resources and operations within and beyond the enterprise, enabling global manufacturers to collaborate with their customers, suppliers and partners to make and deliver the right product, at the right cost and at the right time. Manufacturers of automotive, consumer products, electronics, food and beverage, industrial and life science products use QAD applications at approximately 5,800 licensed sites in more than 90 countries and in as many as 27 languages. For more information about QAD, telephone +1-805-684-6614, or visit the QAD Web site at: www.qad.com.

“QAD” is a registered trademark of QAD Inc. All other products or Company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

About Progress Software Corporation

Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS) provides application infrastructure software for the development, deployment, integration and management of business applications. Our goal is to maximize the benefits of information technology while minimizing its complexity and total cost of ownership. Progress can be reached at www.progress.com or +1-781-280-4000.

Progress, Sonic ESB, OpenEdge, EasyAsk, Actional and Progress OpenEdge are trademarks or registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation or one of its affiliates or subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries. Any other trademarks or service marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.