UNIT4 Advances Non-Profit Sector Leadership with $2m+ ERP Deal

Change-Centric Software to Support Major 'Save the Children' Roll-Out in 50 Countries

DALLAS, TX and VICTORIA, BC, July 12 /PRNewswire/ - UNIT4, the world's leading provider of change-embracing enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, today announced a major deal with Save the Children, the world's leading independent organization for children. The charity has purchased UNIT4's leading ERP product for organizations living in change, Agresso Business World, designed for the not-for-profit-sector and comprising the key solution areas of Finance, Project Costing, Billing and Procurement in a global deal worth over $2 million U.S.

UNIT4 has been chosen as the preferred supplier for Save the Children's 29 national organizations that deliver aid to children in 120 countries around the world. The charity expects Agresso to reduce administration costs, improve budgeting, prepare the organization for ongoing regulatory change, allow the charity to easily demonstrate to its donors where money has been spent and improve the frontline services it provides to children across the world.

The International Program Unit (IPU), which is responsible for all international aid projects beyond the borders of each national headquarters, will be the first to rollout Agresso to its regions and country offices for 2,500 users. UNIT4 will provide consultancy expertise to implement Agresso in a phased approach to replace dozens of localized finance systems. Beyond the IPU each national headquarters will have the option to roll-out Agresso as and when they want to.

UNIT4 was selected as the preferred supplier following a comprehensive evaluation process that included a proof of concept with input from Save the Children employees in Asia, Africa and Europe. "UNIT4 has plenty of experience in this area and the successful 'proof of concept' exercise demonstrated that the not-for-profit platform is closely aligned to our existing business model and highly flexible. "It was clearly the right choice for our business," commented Pam Innes, Director for IPU Transition.

Agresso will provide a single version of the truth which will allow IPU management to take a view on financial effectiveness across the board from global operations down to individual projects. Save the Children will be able to cross reference financial data against specific charitable objectives such as inoculation, education or food relief programs. This will also provide individual, foundation, government and company donors with a clear view of where their funds have been used by the IPU and exactly what impact they have had on children's lives.

Most importantly, Agresso will allow the IPU to make informed decisions on frontline operations so it can focus on the most effective means to deliver projects. With just one system in place the IPU expects to be able to divert considerable funds from administering the back office to frontline services. "The global implementation of Agresso will allow us to be true to one of our five core values which is Accountability - we take personal responsibility for using our resources efficiently, achieving measurable results, and being accountable to supporters, partners and, most of all, children," said Innes.

Financial information will now be readily available to personnel in the field through Manager Self-Service, empowering project teams to model likely project costs, bid for necessary funds and have clear visibility on working budgets regardless of their location.

The flexible nature of Agresso is also a considerable cost saving benefit; it will allow the charity to rapidly modify its accounting and reporting processes in the face of regulatory and business change, with minimal investment in IT resource.

Save the Children is the latest of more than 75 third sector organizations that have selected Agresso to meet the specific demands of the sector.

ABOUT SAVE THE CHILDREN

As the world's leading independent organization for children, Save the Children's mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives.

We are 29 national organizations (www.savethechildren.net/alliance/about_us/contactus.html#member) working together to deliver programmes in 120 countries around the world. Our national organizations work together to campaign for better practices and policies, build partnerships with communities, civil society, governments and the private sector (www.savethechildren.net/alliance/corporate/index.html), and to deliver programs at scale to support children.

Save the Children also has four Advocacy Offices working for policy change to benefit children, targeting the United Nations, European Union and the African Union.

The Save the Children Secretariat office, based in London, coordinates our work and supports Save the Children's national organizations to ensure we achieve the greatest possible impact for children.

Save the Children has recently agreed a new global 2010-2015 strategy to dramatically increase the scope and scale of our work to change children's lives. As part of our new strategy we have launched our biggest ever global campaign, EVERY ONE (www.savethechildren.net/alliance/what_we_do/every_one/index.html), to save children's lives.

As part of the new strategy, Save the Children is now governed and led by the Save the Children International Board (www.savethechildren.net/alliance/about_us/board/index.html). The Board is responsible for overseeing a holistic global strategy for Save the Children. Save the Children's CEO (www.savethechildren.net/alliance/about_us/ceo/index.html) works closely with the national organizations to lead and manage the delivery of the global strategy. The CEO represents Save the Children globally, will lead the delivery of international programs and drive growth in order to deliver on our ambitious objectives for children.

We also made a significant decision to bring together all our program work in 120 countries - such as our health, education and protection work - into one management structure and drive the growth of our organisation so we can double the scale of our international work. The changes will mean we can be even more efficient and accountable to children - by pooling our resources we will avoid duplication and ensure we continue to deliver high quality programs as efficiently as possible. These changes will not start taking effect until 2011.

ABOUT UNIT4

UNIT4 (www.unit4.com) is a global business software and services company aimed at helping dynamic organizations to embrace change simply, quickly and cost effectively in a market sector it calls 'Businesses Living IN Change' (BLINC). The Group incorporates a number of the world's leading change embracing software brands including Agresso Business World and CODA financial management software.

For mid-sized services intensive organizations, UNIT4 markets the Agresso Business World (www.unit4.com/Products/agresso-business-world) ERP suite that is widely acknowledged as the business software solution that delivers the lowest Total Cost of Change. This is achieved thanks to its VITA architecture which allows for ongoing, post-implementation changes without the typical external IT costs and services that cost firms huge sums of money each year.

CODA Financials (www.unit4.com/Products/CODA) is our award-winning suite of best-of-class financial management software designed to integrate with your industry- and company-specific applications. CODA's LINK architecture sets it apart from ordinary accounting systems by providing a financial information backbone for companies with fast-changing and mixed application environments. It is a global accounting solution for mid-to large sized organizations, offering a "no compromise" approach to financial modeling, process control and application choice.

UNIT4 is a top six mid-market ERP software player globally and the 2nd largest European ERP supplier. With offices in 13 European countries, as well as 6 countries across North America, Asia Pacific and Africa and sales activities in several other countries, a revenue of (euro)379.4 million was realized in 2009. UNIT4 is headquartered in Sliedrecht, the Netherlands. The company has 3,456 employees (31 December 2009).

SOURCE UNIT4 Business Software