Sydney, Australia – February 7th, 2005 - Microsoft Australia today announced the availability of its updated enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, Microsoft® Business Solutions Navision® 4.0. Developed specifically for small and mid-sized organisations, the software integrates critical financial, manufacturing, distribution, customer management, supply chain, analytics and e-commerce data into a single solution. Navision 4.0 is the first major product release by Microsoft following its acquisition of Navision in 2002.

“Seamless integration with other Microsoft applications is one of the key benefits of Navision 4.0,” said Ms Yolanda Delport, Product Manager Microsoft Business Solutions Navision, Microsoft Australia and New Zealand. “Customers will quickly find Navision 4.0 offers productivity with a new user interface modelled after Microsoft® Outlook® 2003, business analytics graphing tools derived from Microsoft® Excel™ and new notification services are built on Microsoft SQL Server 2004.”

“Five years after the Y2K technology upgrades, organisations are increasingly seeing the need to refresh their ERP systems. Microsoft Navision 4.0 allows customers to rapidly implement an ERP solution by providing templates so that the software can be deployed in a modular manner,” Ms Delport said.

To enable organisations to respond faster to customer needs and questions, Microsoft Navision 4.0 offers improved upgrade tools, making it faster and easier to upgrade and immediately be productive.

Other key features included in this upgrade are: - Business Notifications which give customers more controlled awareness of changing conditions and ensure that operations stick to plan - New pre-defined Key Performance Indicators, which give customers fast insight into the health of the business and facilitate more effective decision making processes - Powerful analytic tools enhanced with business graphics to allow customers to view business indicators and access information easier - New XML port feature which facilitates and manages XML documents and enables customers to easily manage data exchange of business documents

Further, Microsoft Navision 4.0 is an extensible product offering partners the opportunity to develop integrated add-ons such as and vertical extensions for customers.

“The release of Microsoft Navision 4.0 highlights Microsoft's ongoing commitment to the development of its ERP applications and takes an already successful application to even greater heights,” said Kerry Proctor, Business Development Manager, Tectura, a Microsoft Business Solutions partner that specialises in Microsoft Navision. “We’re very excited with this release as it offers new functionality that can deliver tangible business benefits to our customers.”

Availability Microsoft Navision 4.0 is immediately available in Australia. Interested customers should visit http://www.microsoft.com/australia/mbs/ to find a certified partner for information about cost and deployment. -ends-

About Microsoft Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential.

About Microsoft Business Solutions Microsoft Business Solutions offers integrated business applications and services that allow small and midsize organisations and divisions of large enterprises to connect employees, customers and suppliers for improved efficiency. The financial management, customer relationship management, supply chain management and analytics applications work with Microsoft products such as Office and Windows® to streamline processes across an entire organisation, giving businesses insight to respond rapidly, plan strategically and execute quickly. Microsoft Business Solutions applications are delivered through a worldwide network of channel partners that provide specialised services and local support tailored to a company’s needs.

Microsoft, Navision, Outlook, Excel and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp., or their affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

For further information: Shannon Rudd Product Communications Manager Microsoft Australia Ph: 02 9870 2451 or 0410 533 055 shannr@microsoft.com

Stephen Rodi Howorth Communications 02 8281 3830 or 0416 008 500 howorth@howorth.com.au