webMethods and Certus Software to Jointly Offer Solutions for Creating Automated and Sustainable Compliance Programs
September 19 2005 - 9:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Partnership Brings Together Key Capabilities for Establishing
Continuous Compliance on a More Cost-Effective Basis FAIRFAX, Va.
and CUPERTINO, Calif., Sept. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- webMethods Inc.
(NASDAQ:WEBM), a leading business integration and optimization
software company, and Certus, a leader in corporate governance and
compliance software for the enterprise, today announced a strategic
partnership designed to help corporations and government agencies
transform regulatory compliance into a repeatable, sustainable, and
cost-effective process. The partnership builds upon the Certus
Governance Suite, an enterprise-class framework for implementing
and maintaining internal controls required for regulatory
compliance, through the addition of webMethods' continuous controls
monitoring solution, webMethods for Compliance, which provides
enterprises with the automated ability to monitor and enforce
documented compliance procedures. By bringing together the two core
components of the compliance lifecycle as a joint offering,
enterprises benefit from a single control environment for
compliance management that delivers continuous and automated
assurance. Sarbanes-Oxley and similar regulatory mandates require
enterprises to document and disseminate specific policies and
internal controls used to ensure compliance with corporate
governance objectives. At the same time, enterprises must also put
in place demonstrable means for consistently enforcing these
actions, including periodic evaluation and attestation for
compliance with sections 404 and 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act with
additional real-time evaluation and testing required for section
409. While manual approaches allowed most enterprises to meet
initial deadlines and baseline requirements for compliance, they
did so at significant cost while often failing to secure either
real-time visibility or comprehensive coverage of all control
points. As enterprises struggle to expand these efforts, the need
for new approaches has become apparent. According to a recent
report from Forrester Research [Controls Monitoring Solutions
Gaining Momentum -- Companies Seek Better Automated Capabilities
for SOX Compliance by Paul Hamerman with Ian Schuler (August 29,
2005)], "The general approach to SOX 404 compliance has been to
respond based on the periodic timing of the financial reporting
cycle. Going forward, continuous - - rather than periodic --
monitoring of internal controls will be necessary to optimize the
controls environment and provide better assurances of reducing
errors and discouraging fraud." By combining the Certus Governance
Suite with webMethods for Compliance, enterprises can take
advantage of a single platform for addressing all of these
requirements with greater completeness, cost-effectiveness and
efficiency than otherwise possible. Specifically, Certus offers an
integrated solution for helping enterprises design and implement
appropriate internal controls, evaluate their operational
effectiveness and maintain their long- term performance.
webMethods' flagship compliance solution adds additional features
that automate business processes to remediate potential exceptions
along with a continuous controls monitoring framework for
proactively alerting users to potential violations and at-risk
activities. The joint offering ultimately provides enterprises with
a single platform for simultaneously managing and monitoring both
the control points and business process associated with continuous
compliance. "Our partnership with Certus allows us to jointly
deliver a comprehensive compliance solution that minimizes the cost
and risk associated with attesting to the status of internal
controls. This provides management with greater certitude to the
quality of the financial data in which they are reporting upon,"
said Richard Chiarello, executive vice president, Worldwide
Operations, webMethods Inc. "With compliance establishing itself as
a long-term concern for all major enterprises, the need for truly
scalable and fully-automated solutions for compliance becomes an
imperative. We're proud to be partnered with Certus as this
relationship advances our ability to offer complete, automated and
sustainable compliance assurance." "We are delighted to partner
with webMethods, not only because of the unique synergy between our
compliance software offerings, but also because of our shared
philosophy on what continuous compliance practices can deliver to a
company, by way of improved overall business efficiencies and
value," said Bruce Johnson, president and CEO, Certus Software,
Inc. "The goal for enterprises should be transforming initial
compliance into sustainable compliance -- and technology is the
enabling factor. Certus, like webMethods, views compliance as a
never-ending journey that begins with specific mandates and leads
to a better, more profitable business." About Certus Certus
Software, Inc., a proven leader of corporate governance and
compliance software for the enterprise, helps organizations build a
consistent and sustainable compliance practice that extends beyond
compliance requirements to generate lasting business value. Its
powerful Certus software suite ensures the transparency and
accuracy of internal controls, while leveraging Sarbanes-Oxley
(SOX) conformance as a change agent for immediate accountability
and even greater business benefits in the future. Certus' customers
include Alcon, Inc., Dell, DIRECTV, E*TRADE, Countrywide Financial,
Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company, The Mills
Corporation, PepsiCo, Polaroid, Seagate Technology, Ross Stores,
Suntron, and T-Mobile. To learn more about Certus, visit
http://www.certus.com/. About webMethods, Inc. webMethods
(NASDAQ:WEBM) provides business integration software to integrate,
assemble and optimize available IT assets to drive business process
productivity. webMethods delivers an innovative, enterprise-class
business integration platform that incorporates proven integration
technology with next generation capabilities into one interoperable
set of tools that delivers a unique combination of efficiency,
agility and control. webMethods combines industry leadership with a
zealous commitment to customers to deliver tangible business value
to more than 1,300 global customers. webMethods is headquartered in
Fairfax, Va., with offices throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia
Pacific and Japan. More information about the company can be found
at http://www.webmethods.com/. The webMethods name and logo are
registered trademarks of webMethods, Inc. All other marks mentioned
are trademarks or service marks of their respective companies.
Certus and Certus Governance Suite are trademarks of Certus
Software, Inc. All other products or company names mentioned are
used for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks of
their respective owners. DATASOURCE: webMethods, Inc. CONTACT: John
Conley of webMethods, +1-703-460-5996, ; or Becky Quinlan,
+1-650-480-4032, , for Certus Software Web site:
http://www.webmethods.com/ http://www.certus.com/
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