QAD Announces The Next Generation Of QAD Collaborative Business Intelligence

Oct. 5, 2011 - PRLog -- QAD Inc. (NASDAQ- QADA, QADB), a leading provider of enterprise software and services for global manufacturing companies, today announced general availability of QAD Business Intelligence (BI) 3.5 featuring new mobile computing compatibility for faster, more convenient access to critical decision-making data.

In today’s increasingly competitive and globally networked environments, business decision makers need to collect, share and analyze information via an array of sources and formats, faster and more efficiently. QAD is addressing these demands with its latest QAD BI release.

QAD BI 3.5 provides companies access to their data either through a browser on its web-based, QAD BI Collaborative Portal, or using QAD’s new Apple® iPad application. Available through Apple’s App Store®, the QAD BI 3.5 iPad application provides the same functional access as the QAD BI Collaborative Portal, including visualization of data and access to collaborative features.

Unlike other conventional BI tools, which require significant IT investment to execute basic data analysis, QAD BI 3.5 allows users to conduct sophisticated, complex analysis anywhere, anytime, using simple, user-friendly functionality.

QAD BI 3.5 features its own data repository called the QAD Data Warehouse. Data is populated using QAD’s sophisticated extract, transform and load (ETL) tool, which was developed to streamline data collection and automate the timely maintenance of the QAD Data Warehouse.

QAD has also streamlined the process of data analysis and mitigates the guesswork for most companies on what they should view and measure. QAD BI 3.5 provides pre-packaged and pre-formatted modules that cover Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for most functional areas of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. This convenience, combined with QAD’s simple to access, browser-based interface, which can be deployed across many platforms, gives today’s companies the fast, flexible access to business intelligence data they need to stay competitive.

“QAD BI 3.5 is at the forefront of business intelligence technology. We’re very proud of this release, and we know it will benefit our customers,” said Bill Keese, senior vice president of Research and Development for QAD. “We’re particularly excited about the collaborative aspects of this application that allow users to share analytics or post questions about their BI data.”

QAD will provide details of the release in its upcoming webinar: “Global Business Intelligence: Unleash the Power of Your Data” being held on October 5, 2011 at 8 am PDT. This webinar will be accessible online any time following its initial broadcast. Register for the webcast today.

About QAD
QAD is a leading provider of enterprise applications for global manufacturing companies specializing in automotive, consumer products, electronics, food and beverage, industrial and life science products. QAD applications provide critical functionality for managing manufacturing resources and operations within and beyond the enterprise, enabling global manufacturers to collaborate with their customers, suppliers and partners to make and deliver the right product, at the right cost and at the right time. For more information about QAD, telephone +1 805-566-6000, or visit the QAD web site at www.qad.com.

Note to Investors:

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to, evolving demand for the company's software products and products that operate with the company's products; the company's ability to sustain license and service demand; the company's ability to leverage changes in technology; the company's ability to sustain customer renewal rates at current levels; the publication of opinions by industry and financial analysts about the company, its products and technology; the reliability of estimates of transaction and integration costs and benefits; the entry of new competitors or new offerings by existing competitors and the associated announcement of new products and technological advances by them; delays in localizing the company's products for new or existing markets; the ability to recruit and retain key personnel; delays in sales as a result of lengthy sales cycles; changes in operating expenses, pricing, timing of new product releases, the method of product distribution or product mix; timely and effective integration of newly acquired businesses; general economic conditions; exchange rate fluctuations; and, the global political environment. In addition, revenue and earnings in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) software industry are subject to fluctuations. Software license revenue, in particular, is subject to variability with a significant proportion of revenue earned in the last month of each quarter. Given the high margins associated with license revenue, modest fluctuations can have a substantial impact on net income. Investors should not use any one quarter's results as a benchmark for future performance. For a more detailed description of the risk factors associated with the company and the industries in which it operates, please refer to the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2011 ended January 31, 2011.

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Founded in 1979, QAD has been recognized as a leading provider of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software applications for global manufacturing companies. Today, QAD enterprise applications leverage advances in Internet and enabling technologies to provide critical functionality for managing manufacturing resources and operations within and beyond the enterprise, enabling global manufacturers to collaborate with their customers, suppliers and partners to make and deliver the right product, at the right cost and at the right time.

QAD enterprise applications are focused and optimized for select manufacturing industry segments: automotive, consumer products, electronics, food and beverage, industrial and life sciences.