Q4bis Confirmed as Microsoft Gold Certified Partner

Microsoft’s competency ratings in Data Management and ISV also earned by Q4bis.

IRVINE, CALIF. – March 12, 2007 – Q4bis, Inc., an innovative producer of a leading feature-packed business intelligence (BI) software solution, has been reconfirmed by Microsoft as a Gold Certified Partner in the Microsoft Partner Program with two competency areas in Data Management and ISV (independent software vendor). Microsoft’s certification recognizes the expertise and market commitment of Q4bis as producer of the Q4bis Business Intelligence Suite. As an MS Gold Certified Partner, Q4bis has demonstrated its knowledge with Microsoft technologies and proven its ability to meet customer needs in the area of BI technology.
Microsoft Gold Certified Partners receive a rich set of benefits, including access to MS resources, training and support, giving them a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
The Q4bis BI Suite is a tightly integrated business intelligence solution designed to support today’s most critical informational initiatives. With Q4bis, organizations can easily deliver information quickly to management, employees, customers, partners, and suppliers – on the desktop or via wireless communication devices – to the point in a business where it’s most vital.
Q4bis BI solutions integrate easily with the Microsoft Dynamics suite of ERP platforms running on Microsoft’s SQL Server 2005.
Louis-Philippe Lalonde, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Q4bis, stated, “We are extremely pleased to have attained Gold Certified Partner status in the Microsoft Partner Program, allowing us to clearly demonstrate our expertise and close relationship with Microsoft to our clients. The benefits provided through our Gold Certified Partner status will allow us to continue to enhance the offerings that we provide to our customers.”
As one of the requirements for attaining Gold Certified Partner status, Q4bis, Inc. had to declare a Microsoft Competency. Microsoft Competencies are designed to help differentiate a partner’s capabilities with specific Microsoft technologies to customers looking for a particular type of solution. Each competency has a unique set of requirements and benefits, formulated to accurately represent the specific skills and services that partners bring to the technology industry. The competency area declared by Q4bis, business intelligence, is part of Microsoft’s Data Management competency group. The Data Management competency is for partners specializing in business intelligence and database applications.

Microsoft understands how Q4bis complements their upcoming PerformancePoint Server by leveraging the SQL platform and focusing on a very different BI market – the SMB (Small and Medium Business) market.

As a further commitment to Microsoft, Q4bis actively participates in three Microsoft alliance programs:
InterOp Alliance: Q4bis is a founding member of this global consortium of ISVs that supports the interoperability of Microsoft products. The stated goal of the new InterOp Vendor Alliance is to listen to customers’ needs for interoperability, promote collaboration among vendors to address those needs, test solutions that might require interoperability, and then jointly promote those solutions once they’re discovered. See: http://www.crn.com.au/story.aspx?CIID=68439&r=rstory.

Midrange Alliance: Q4bis is also a member of this Microsoft-funded program. The Midrange Alliance is an ecosystem of independent software vendors (ISV) and system integrators that bridge the gap between midrange systems and the Windows platform. Midrange Alliance Program (MAP) partners use a variety of legacy modernization approaches and technologies with a focus and understanding that comes from years of supporting midrange systems. See: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver/midrange/overview.mspx.

Open Borders Program: To ensure the Microsoft Partner Program remains competitive in an ever-evolving market, Microsoft has launched its Partnering for the Future initiative. The aims of this initiative are twofold: first, to ensure existing partners are aware of and ready for market opportunities opening up for software vendors as new channels for software distribution emerge. And second, to ensure Microsoft remains an attractive vendor with which to partner, thereby attracting a new stable of partners to deliver Microsoft solutions in a new way, or embed Microsoft software as an ingredient of a service they already provide. Q4bis is one of 10 ISVs currently enrolled in the US edition of the Open Borders Program. Q4bis is currently involved in four co-funded co-marketing campaigns with Microsoft (solution marketing campaigns as well as telemarketing campaigns driving leads to Q4bis and to Webinars hosted and directed by Q4bis and Microsoft. See: http://www.computing.co.uk/crn/news/2184187/microsoft-vars-future and http://blogs.msdn.com/stevecla01/archive/2007/02/24/microsoft-uk-partnering-for-the-future.aspx.

The Microsoft Partner Program (https://partner.microsoft.com/40009570) was launched in October 2003 and represents Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to the success of partners worldwide. The program offers a single integrated partnering framework that recognizes partner expertise, rewards the total impact that partners have in the technology marketplace, and delivers more value to help partners’ businesses be successful.
The integrated Q4bis BI Suite includes five principal products: DataServer 2005, Q4bis Analysis, Q4bis Report Publisher, Q4bis Mobile Dashboard, and a portfolio of pre-defined application specific Q4bis Services Templates that provide for a rapid implementation of a seamless end-to-end BI solution for users. Business managers and analysts are able to access a "single version of the truth" data repository, and gain visibility into their data via a very intuitive user interface with single-click ad hoc report generation. Q4bis DataServer 2005 is an extract, transform and load (ETL) tool that can extract data from any source, transform or clean it and load it into a SQL data mart to build OLAP data cubes. Q4bis Analysis reads the OLAP cubes, provides data manipulation and analytics functionality, offers users powerful visibility into the data and total control over how it is distributed and reported.
At the Gartner Midsize Enterprise Summit in the US, Q4bis won the prestigious Innovation Award for Best Mid-market Solution Software in 2005 and 2006. About the emerging BI field, the Gartner Group has said, “The use of BI solutions will shift dramatically from dedicated analysts to all managers … spending 5% of their time using BI software.”

About Q4bis, Inc.
Q4bis (www.q4bis.com) is a complete, end-to-end business intelligence (BI) suite of products built around Microsoft’s tool set: SQL Server 2005, OLAP technology and Reporting Services. Q4bis has gained a reputation for excellence in developing and providing BI solutions to companies globally. The company has developed unique Rapid Implementation Methodology and Proof of Concept techniques to supplement its reputation for interface intuitiveness. These methodologies provide organizations with a framework for successful first-time implementation and ensure outstanding ROI on their BI investment. Q4bis runs on any hardware platform, including Wintel PC and IBM iSeries midrange platforms. For more information, contact Louis-Philippe Lalonde, Vice President, Marketing and Business Development, Q4bis Inc., 8 Corporate Park, Suite 300, Irvine, CA 92606, 1-949-442-8326, louis.lalonde@q4bis.com.

About Q4bis Inc.

Q4bis (www.q4bis.com) is a complete, end-to-end business intelligence (BI) suite of products built around Microsoft’s tool set: SQL Server 2005, OLAP technology and Reporting Services. Q4bis has gained a reputation for excellence in developing and providing BI solutions to companies globally. The company has developed unique Rapid Implementation Methodology and Proof of Concept techniques to supplement its reputation for interface intuitiveness. These methodologies provide organizations with a framework for successful first-time implementation and ensure outstanding ROI on their BI investment. Q4bis runs on any hardware platform, including Wintel PC and IBM iSeries midrange platforms. For more information, contact Louis-Philippe Lalonde, Vice President, Marketing and Business Development, Q4bis Inc., 8 Corporate Park, Suite 300, Irvine, CA 92606, 949-442-8326, louis.lalonde(at)q4bis.com.