Webcom, Inc. Announces New Release of WebSource CPQ (Configuration, Pricing, Quotation & Proposal) Solution

Enhancements to WebSource CPQ Focus on Further Reductions in
Quote-to-Order Cycle Time and the Handling of Varying Levels of Complexity

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September 20, 2005 Webcom, Inc., the leader in simplified quote-to-order enablement for the selling of complex products and services, announced today the availability of Version 5.0 of its market leading WebSource CPQ (Configuration, Pricing, Quotation & Proposal) solution. With this latest version, enterprise customers can support unlimited nested configurations, advanced cost and margin analysis, solution wizards and enhanced checkout and shopping cart experiences unique to a user group.

“We have long been recognized by industry experts as having been able to tackle the challenging problem of handling the toughest configuration problems, while elegantly handling simple quotations where others in the industry have over-engineered to handle the mixing of the simple with the complex,” said Aleks Ivanovic, CEO and founder of Webcom, Inc. “WebSource CPQ V5.0 continues to build on the core requirement of handling the simple and the complex in a single environment,” added Ivanovic.

Based on client feedback and requests, WebSource CPQ V5.0 provides many key new features, including:

• Enhanced triggering of workflow and approval process with data not resident within the system, such as information collected via web services integration

• Checkout, order placement, shopping cart experience unique to the user group

• Unlimited nested configurations

• Single click add of simple products to the quote or shopping cart

• Advanced product cost and margin analysis to support the discount approval process utilizing the same power of our robust pricing engine

• Greater level of personalization of custom fields

• User-defined solution wizards to simultaneously configure multiple products/services through a single set of questions offering a greater level of productivity

“As an early user and contributor to the solution wizard functionality, we are impressed with the productivity gains we will see over what WebSource CPQ already is delivering,” stated Alisa Garcia, director of sales planning at Cray, Inc., the global leader in supercomputers, purpose-built for high-performance computing. “Through one single set of questions, a highly configurable Cray supercomputer can be automatically configured with the desired processors, memory, external storage, software and cabinets, without needing to specify each area individually. It makes the usability of the tool much more appealing to our sales team,” added Garcia.

WebSource CPQ is designed to help drive increased revenues and margins, increased customer satisfaction, reduced costs and improved productivity. Requiring nothing more than a web browser, WebSource CPQ allows sales people, channel partners and consumers to easily and skillfully configure, price, quote and propose products/services. “Demand for our solution is at an all-time high, confirming the importance that bridging the gap from opportunity to order plays in our clients’ customer management strategies,” stated Chris Lesar, executive vice president of Webcom.

“The customer management market saw double-digit growth for the first time in five years. Overall, customer management application license revenue grew 8% in 2004 after losing 2% in 2003 and 12% in 2002. Combining both license and hosted software revenue, which totaled $3.9B in 2003, the $4.4B market in 2004 represents a healthy 12.6% increase,” cited Robert Bois, senior research analyst with AMR Research, in The Customer Management Applications Report, 2004-2009.

 About Webcom, Inc.

Webcom, Inc. provides software solutions that simplify the quote-to-order process for the selling of complex products and services. Requiring only a browser, WebSource CPQ allows customers to configure, price, quote and propose their offerings across multiple sales and distribution channels, anytime, anywhere. WebSource CPQ not only handles the traditional bill of material, routing and diagram generation tasks frequently associated with product configurators, but also addresses the guided selling, proposal generation and multi-level channel management tasks associated with sales configurators. The solution helps drive increased revenues and margins, increased customer satisfaction, reduced costs and improved productivity. Companies utilizing Webcom’s products and services include Rockwell Automation, Danfoss, Corning Cable Systems, Verity, Grayhill and GE Industrial Systems. Founded in 1997, Webcom is a privately held corporation headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with offices in the USA and Europe. For more information, visit Webcom at http://www.webcominc.com  or call 414-273-4442 (toll free 877-508-6323).

Media Contact:
Webcom, Inc.
Chris Lesar
(262) 617-8231
clesar@webcominc.com