Sage Software and iLumen Partner to Deliver Financial Analysis Benchmarking for the Construction and Real Estate Markets

BEAVERTON, OR -- (MARKET WIRE) -- November 7, 2006 --Sage Software and iLumen announced today an agreement to make the iLumen Financial Information Network available to Sage Timberline Office and Sage Master Builder clients. The iLumen Network is the nation's largest online financial benchmarking community for privately-held companies.

Sage Software clients that join the iLumen Network will be able to access information that will help them better understand how they are performing against comparable industry peers throughout the year by accessing industry specific financial dashboards, benchmarking trends, expert analysis and peer group discussion forums.

"The construction and real estate industries are very competitive, and historically, reliable benchmarking for privately-held companies has not been readily available," said John Geffel, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Sage Software Construction and Real Estate Solutions. "With iLumen's benchmarking infrastructure and expertise, we believe we can help our customers gain unique insights into how they can improve their business in very specific and practical ways."

For as little as $395 per year, companies get access to the iLumen Network that includes trend analysis dashboards and graphs, financial benchmarking comparisons, access to industry observations and analysis through webcasts and discussion topic forums. The process is simple and easy to update. Upon subscribing, a company exports their financial data directly out of their existing Sage Software systems. iLumen then standardizes and aggregates the company's data and presents financial trends in easy to read dashboards and comparative charts.

"We've been working with Sage Software to provide benchmarking information to a variety of their clients and business partners and are thrilled to be able to now offer this data to their construction and real estate clients," said Robert H. Woosley, CPA and Chief Executive Officer of iLumen. "Privately-held businesses in these industries will now have access to the same level of financial and comparative analysis that has only been available for public companies. These businesses will now be able to make observations about the trends in their industry, see how they are performing versus their peers and share this information with their trusted financial advisors."

The iLumen Financial Information Network is comprised exclusively of company financial data anonymously contributed from privately-held companies. The data is aggregated in a standardized format, is frequently updated and does not include any third party sources. iLumen has formed partnerships with banks, accounting firms, and trade and industry associations to deliver their services to privately-held companies. iLumen's customers include Wachovia Corporation, RSM McGladrey Inc. and BKD, LLP.

Sage Software has a growing portfolio of business management solutions specifically tailored for the construction and real estate industries. The portfolio is designed to provide support through the growth cycle of a business and includes:

Peachtree by Sage Premium Accounting for Construction: For small contractors, this award-winning entry-level system offers all of the accounting functionality plus construction-specific features and analysis tools they need to get started.

Sage Master Builder: When a business starts to outgrow Peachtree, Sage Master Builder provides more sophisticated construction management features and increased support for managing the profit cycle.

Sage Timberline Office: For medium to large companies, Sage Timberline Office offers integrated financial and operations software and provides the most sophisticated level of functionality in the Sage Software portfolio of construction solutions.

About iLumen

iLumen, Inc. is a financial information technology company that delivers and manages private-company data gathering and analysis solutions designed to solve critical problems in risk management, financial compliance and financial oversight within the banking, accounting and corporate environments. iLumen's services are based on a proprietary (patent pending) data warehousing engine known as iMonitor® that automates and standardizes the gathering, mapping, analysis and benchmarking of electronic accounting data from private companies.

For more information visit www.ilumen.com or call 404-446-1600. iLumen™ and iMonitor® are trademarks of iLumen, Inc., all rights reserved.

About Sage Software

Sage Software supports the needs, challenges and dreams of more than 2.6 million small and mid-sized business customers in North America through easy-to-use, scalable and customizable software and services. Our products support accounting, operations, customer relationship management, human resources, time tracking, merchant services and the specialized needs of the construction, distribution, healthcare, manufacturing, nonprofit and real estate industries. Sage Software is a subsidiary of The Sage Group plc, a leading international supplier of accounting and business management software solutions and related products and services for small to mid-sized businesses. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and the Group now has 5.0 million customers and employs over 10,500 people worldwide. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.sagesoftware.com/moreinfo or call (866) 308-2378.

Contact Information: Press Contact: Traci Williams Sage Software 503-439-5919 traci.williams@sage.com