SSAG Ssa Global Technologies (MM)

CHICAGO and LONDON, May 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SSA Global(TM) (NASDAQ:SSAG), a leading global provider of enterprise business software and services, proudly announced today that its customer Essilor has won the Gartner CRM Excellence Award 2006 for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051213/CGTU005LOGO ) Essilor, the world leader in the design, manufacture and customisation of corrective lenses to meet all visual requirements, implemented SSA Global's CRM, powered by Epiphany, to improve collaboration between customers, the independent Opticians and Essilor as the manufacturer. An innovative B-2-B-C loyalty program was the base of the success. Essilor's CRM implementation beat the entries of British Telecom and the Czech Bank for the award. A review team of Gartner analysts selected the award finalists after evaluating and rating each of the initial entries based on demonstrated excellence in their CRM initiatives. Attendees at the Gartner CRM Summit decided the winner by vote after seeing each finalist's presentation. Essilor joins Bankinter, Boise Office Solutions, GSI Commerce, Grupo Financiero Bital, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and HSBC Mexico as SSA Global customers that have received the Gartner CRM Excellence Award in the past six years. "We are thrilled to receive this prestigious award," said Ron de Bruijn general manager of Essilor in the Benelux. "This award reflects our ongoing commitment to customer relationship management and in particular to our loyalty program." Ron de Bruijn went on to state, "Since we implemented SSA CRM, we have seen a noticeable improvement in both revenue and in customer satisfaction. Compared to the competition, we grew our market share significantly." Loyalty Lab set up the business marketing program in association with Essilor and approximately 100 independent opticians. This marketing program provides opticians the tools to maintain an optimal relationship with their customers and the information for perfect timing of up and cross-selling activities. "Our program has proved its added value to the optician taking part and to Essilor. This award is a big acknowledgement to our work and success," says Jasper van IJssel, program director at Loyalty Lab. "We congratulate Essilor on receiving the 2006 Gartner CRM Excellence Award," said Gregg Monastiero, vice president CRM, SSA Global. "We are proud to be a part of Essilor's CRM initiatives as they have improved the quality of their customer relationships and subsequently of their customer profitability. Additionally, the continuing industry recognition of our clients by leading analyst firms over the past six years shows that SSA Global CRM solutions drive demonstrable business results through intelligent customer interactions." About Essilor Essilor International is the world leader in ophthalmic optical products, offering a wide range of lenses under the flagship Varilux(R), Crizal(R), Airwear(R) and Essilor(R) brands to correct myopia, hyperopia, presbyopia and astigmatism. Essilor operates worldwide through 16 production sites, 215 lens finishing laboratories and local distribution networks. The Essilor share trades on the Euronext Paris market and is included in the CAC 40 index. About SSA Global SSA Global(TM) (NASDAQ:SSAG) is a leading provider of enterprise business software for mid-sized and large organizations, primarily in select manufacturing, consumer and services industries. The company's software solutions include enterprise resource planning, financial management, human capital management, corporate performance management, customer relationship management, product lifecycle management, supply chain management and supplier relationship management. Headquartered in Chicago, SSA Global has over 50 locations worldwide and its product offerings are used by customers in over 90 countries. For additional information, visit the SSA Global web site at http://www.ssaglobal.com/ . SSA Global(TM) is the corporate brand for product lines and subsidiaries of SSA Global Technologies, Inc. SSA Global, SSA Global Technologies and SSA GT are trademarks of SSA Global Technologies, Inc. Other products mentioned in this document are registered, trademarked or service marked by their respective owners. Forward-Looking Statements These materials may contain "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain the words "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "estimate," "intend," "project," "plan," "will be," "will likely continue," " will likely result," or words or phrases with similar meaning. All of these forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by our management that, although we believe to be reasonable, are inherently uncertain. Forward- looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors outside of our control that may cause our business, strategy or actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. We operate in a changing environment in which new risks can emerge from time to time. It is not possible for management to predict all of these risks, nor can it assess the extent to which any factor, or a combination of factors, may cause our business, strategy or actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements. Factors you should consider that could cause these differences include, among other things: -- General economic and business conditions, including exchange rate fluctuations in the United States and abroad; -- Our ability to identify acquisition opportunities and effectively and cost-efficiently integrate acquisitions; -- Our ability to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting; -- Our ability to attract and retain personnel, including key personnel; -- Our success in developing and introducing new services and products; -- Competition in the software industry, as it relates to both our existing and potential new customers. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051213/CGTU005LOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: SSA Global CONTACT: Press, Maria Diecidue of SSA Global, +1-312-258-6000, or , or Scott Goldberg of Edelman, +1-312-297-7414, or , or Simon Corbett of Edelman (London), +0207 344 1349, or , or Investors, Dawn Drella of SSA Global, +1-312-474-7694, or Web site: http://www.ssaglobal.com/

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