Information Builders EMEA Partner Program and Customer Successes Skyrocket in 2007

Addition of More Than One Dozen Partners Expands Information Builders' International Reach and Accelerates Adoption of WebFOCUS and iWay Software Solutions in New Markets


LONDON and NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - January 31, 2008) - Information Builders, the leader in production business intelligence (BI) solutions, today announced continued growth from its Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) Partner Program, which enables partners to deploy WebFOCUS and iWay Software solutions to customers seeking ways to overcome business intelligence and integration barriers. The significant expansion of the program into emerging markets in Africa, South Africa, Russia, and Poland further strengthens and extends Information Builders' already strong international reach.

"We are responding to the growing demand for business intelligence and integration technologies around the world by delivering technology solutions that help organizations transcend barriers to integrating, capturing, analyzing, and reporting critical business information," said Gerald Cohen, founder and CEO of Information Builders. "With a top-notch network of partners in place, we have extended Information Builders' reach into new markets and helped deliver valuable solutions to customers in those territories."

The Partner Program enables resellers to integrate and/or build products that utilize Information Builders' industry-leading software offerings, as well as gain access to Information Builders' education, technical, marketing, and sales resources. The program, led by Vice President of EMEA Partner Program Dave Watson, is designed to help partners accelerate time to market, increase sales opportunities, and drive their own business objectives by taking advantage of the company's global resources more effectively.

In 2007, Information Builders signed more than one dozen new value-added reseller (VAR) and system integrator (SI) partner companies, greatly expanding the company's national and regional reach throughout EMEA. New partners include:

--  Sweden and Denmark: InfoBuild AB at www.infobuild.se, Zystems by
    Semcon at www.zystems.se/start,  and Guide Konsult AB at www.avropa.nu
    
--  Poland/Central and Eastern Europe: InfoBuild Polska/MIPD at
    www.infobuild.pl and Wola Info S.A at www.wolainfo.com.pl/en
    
--  Russia/CIS States: InfoBuild Russia/FOBOS Plus Limited at
    http://www.informationbuilders.ru/
    
--  Saudi Arabia and Gulf States: Al Hisn Al Waqi For Technology Service
    at www.alhisnalwaqi.com
    
--  Ethiopia/East Africa: Mkty Information Technology Services Plc
    
--  India: 3K Technologies LLC at www.3ktechnologies.com and Amtex Group
    at www.infobuild.in
    
--  South Africa/West Africa and UK: PBT Group at www.pbt.co.za and
    CuttingEdge Commerce (Pty) Limited at www.ce-commerce.biz
    

"We continue to see the demand for our solutions in markets such as Africa, Eastern Europe, and Russia, and the most effective way to serve these markets is through our partners," said Watson. "In the second half of 2007, Information Builders visited leading capital cities in Eastern Europe, one of the most exciting emerging markets in the world. We also sponsored IDC Business Intelligence seminars held in Budapest, Bratislava, Prague, Warsaw, and Moscow where more than 650 attendees learned about Information Builders enterprise search and pervasive BI offerings. Attendees ranked Information Builders speakers in the top third of the many presenters, indicating the caliber and sheer relevance of the content presented."

In addition to gaining more than 30 percent mindshare with organizations across EMEA via partner and conference programs, Information Builders continued to see successful WebFOCUS and iWay customer deployments, including the sampling below -- made possible with help from knowledgeable international partners.

Serving Citizens in South Africa

Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) is the economic hub of the Eastern Cape Province. The municipality covers an area of 1,950 square kilometers and has a population of 1.3 million people. NMBM is confronted by growth, high rural/urban migration and an increasing demand for better public services. As part of an IT modernization project, NMBM contracted Fujitsu Services (South Africa), an Information Builders Reseller in the region, to deliver a new billing and CRM solution. The task of integrating the new billing system with 25 other systems ranged from legacy AS400/DB2 applications to a modern Microsoft CRM system.

Developers used iWay Service Manager to replace the existing architecture, with minimal impact on the municipality's entrenched systems. Next they used iWay DataMigrator to migrate approximately 400 entities from an AS 400/DB2-based billing system to the new Windows/SQL Server-based billing system. Finally, they used WebFOCUS to create a secure billing portal that enables consumers and employees to view account statements, make online payments, and update personal details.

Delivering Financial Data in Russia

GPB-Mortgage is one of the leaders in the Russian financial services industry. When GPB-Mortgage needed operational and analytical information to supply insight and give bank executives timely, accurate information for tactical decision-making, they turned to Information Builders for assistance. Using WebFOCUS, GPB-Mortgage created a BI solution that provides upper management and employees of the Risk department with a sophisticated reporting tool. InfoBuild Russia Consulting helped the bank migrate complex custom SQL code to a WebFOCUS environment and create parameterized reports that replace dozens of static reports. The new reporting solution delivers information to authorized users and provides a scalable solution for the future.

Mining Information in Africa

Anglo Platinum Ltd., based in South Africa, is the world's largest primary producer of platinum. The mining company has a market capitalization of US$39.2 billion and produces 38 percent of the world's supply of this precious metal, which is commonly used in jewelry, laboratory equipment, electrical contacts, dentistry, and emissions-control devices. Managers wanted a BI environment that would turn information into a strategic asset and contribute to the profitability and sustainability of the organization. They selected WebFOCUS, Visual Discovery, and the Performance Management Framework for the job and created a self-service application that supports operational, tactical, and strategic reporting.

About Information Builders

Information Builders' award-winning combination of business intelligence and enterprise integration software has been providing innovative solutions to more than 12,000 customers for the past 30 years. WebFOCUS is the world's most widely utilized business intelligence platform. It provides the security, scalability, and flexibility needed at every level of global extended enterprises. Its simplicity helps create executive, analytical, and operational applications that reach dozens to millions of users. Information Builders' iWay Software suite provides state-of-the-art, multi-purpose, pre-built integration components that address all SOA, application, data, and information management requirements. Its integration adapters have been adopted by the leading software platform providers. Together, these products give Information Builders' customers the ability to live up to the company motto: "Your Business. No Barriers."

Information Builders' award-winning technology has successfully provided quality software and superior services to more than 12,000 customers, including most of the Fortune 100 and U.S. federal government agencies. Headquartered in New York City with 90 offices worldwide, the company employs 1,450 people and has more than 350 business partners. For more information visit http://www.informationbuilders.com.

Contact Information: Press Contact: Kathleen Moran Information Builders (212) 736-4433