TORONTO and WESTBOROUGH, Mass., April 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Varicent Software Incorporated, a leader in incentive compensation management solutions, and Applix Inc., a global provider of Business Performance Management (BPM) and Business Intelligence (BI) applications, will be hosting a joint web presentation entitled "Aligning Sales Performance with Strategic Objectives through Incentive Compensation."

The public event, to be conducted via a web conference on Wednesday, April 26th at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, will provide practical examples of how companies can best align sales performance with their corporate objectives by leveraging leading technologies and solutions. Craig Schiff, founder and CEO of BPM Partners and a pioneer in Business Performance Management, will lead the session and offer insight on how enterprises can achieve maximum business performance via performance management in the sales function.

"Most business people consider sales an area where performance is easily measured," stated Schiff. "In fact, the accurate measurement of sales performance, and the underlying drivers for this performance, can be difficult to ascertain. Do the results align with strategic corporate initiatives? Can I get an accurate assessment of the effectiveness for specific sales incentive campaigns? Can I project future sales performance with 'what if' models based on various sales initiatives? These are only a few of the challenges leading organizations face and are samples of the topics that will be discussed in this webcast."

The discussion will also include strategies for improving and managing sales performance across organizations using incentive management applications, business activity monitoring (BAM), enterprise business intelligence, sales performance planning and forecasting, as well as dashboards and scorecarding solutions.

"Our mission is to help organizations better understand and control their sales operations and incentive plans," said Marc Altshuller, vice president, Varicent. "Our participation in this web seminar will help companies in search of performance management software better understand how Varicent and Applix can solve that other spreadsheet problem, incentive compensation management, through streamlining sales performance and delivering a richer return on investment."

"Many enterprises are demanding effective solutions to improving management of operations, particularly in sales and marketing performance," said David Menninger, vice president of worldwide product management and marketing, Applix, Inc. "Attendees of this web seminar will better understand the best practice strategies and tactics for sales performance management such as handling the complex processes across the organization, coupled with supporting analytics."

The public web cast will take place on Wednesday, April 26th at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Please use the following link to register: http://www.varicent.com/SPMWebcast.

About Varicent Software

Varicent Software Incorporated is a leading provider of Sales Performance Management (SPM) solutions. Varicent's flagship product, Varicent SPM, enables organizations across multiple industries to effectively design and mange incentive pay calculations across the company. Varicent is a web-based solution built on Microsoft's .NET framework, and its patented rules-based calculation engine can manage the most complex compensation plans. Varicent's homepage is http://www.varicent.com/.

About Applix

Applix is a global provider of Business Performance Management and Business Intelligence applications based on Applix's TM1. TM1 applications enable continuous strategic planning, management and monitoring of performance across the financial and operational functions within the enterprise. Applix is a founder of the BPM Standards Group, and has been recognized by numerous industry analyst groups for its technical leadership and vision in the marketplace.

More than 2,200 customers worldwide use TM1 for tight integration with Excel, real-time response, adaptability, and low total cost of ownership. Delivered by Applix and by a global network of partners, TM1-based applications help customers manage their business performance and respond to the marketplace in real time. Headquartered in Westborough, MA, Applix maintains offices in four countries in Europe, North America and the Pacific Rim. For more information about Applix, please visit http://www.applix.com/.

About BPM Partners

Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Applix, Inc., including any statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include without limitation, competitive pressures, changes in customer demands, adverse economic conditions, loss of key personnel, litigation, potential fluctuations in quarterly results, lengthy sales cycles, market acceptance of new or enhanced products and services, factors affecting spending by customers and other risks, uncertainties and factors including those described in the Company's most recent Form 10-K or 10-Q under the heading "Risk Factors"/"Factors That May Affect Future Results." In addition, the forward-looking statements provided by the Company in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this release. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause the Company's views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, and these forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this release.

Applix and TM1 are registered trademarks of Applix, Inc. Contact: Charlotte Locke Allison Miller Applix Varicent Software, Inc. (508) 475-2441 416-480-9825 x 401 clocke@applix.comamiller@varicent.comhttp://www.applix.com/http://www.varicent.com/

CONTACT: Charlotte Locke of Applix, +1-508-475-2441, clocke@applix.com;
or Allison Miller of Varicent Software, Inc., +1-416-480-9825 ext. 401,
amiller@varicent.com

Web site: http://www.applix.com/
http://www.varicent.com/

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