Commence Teams Up With Softmart To Offer Complete CRM Solutions to Small Businesses

Easy-to-Use, Low-Cost Commence 2000 Solution Supports Core CRM Component of Softmart's Small Business Sales Strategy

Oakhurst, NJ (August 15, 2000) -  Commence Corporation, a leading provider of CRM and e-business solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses, today announced a strategic partnership with Softmart, a leading reseller of corporate IT software and hardware products. Through the agreement, Softmart will offer Commence® 2000, Commence's low-cost, easy-to-use customer relationship management (CRM) solution, as a key component of its small business sales strategy.

Softmart's Small Business Sales Group is dedicated to serving the unique IT needs of small businesses, equipping companies with the tools and technologies they need to support continuous growth. Small businesses can acquire leading hardware and software products from Softmart's comprehensive inventory, obtain helpful tips and information to make smart purchasing decisions, and configure solutions that meet exact business needs. By partnering with Commence, Softmart can extend its small business offering to include CRM, allowing customers to deploy a complete customer management solution based on Commence 2000.

"Commence 2000 provides us with a powerful, flexible solution to drive the CRM component of our small business division," explained Robert J. Burton, President of Softmart. "Commence 2000 is the perfect fit for our small business clients that need an easy-to-use, cost-effective, feature-rich solution to manage customer relationships. This small business market wants more than a contact manager, but not the cost and complexity of high-end systems. We recognize the needs of small business are different from the larger enterprise, and we want to provide solutions for them that match their needs. Commence 2000 is the right solution for CRM in this market."

Commence 2000 seamlessly integrates critical information into a single unified database, enabling small- to medium-sized businesses to centrally capture, share, and manage customer data across the organization. The solution can be easily installed out-of-the-box, and fully customized to support individual needs - without programming. Using pre-built templates, organizations can quickly and easily implement tailored applications for Sales Force Automation, Help Desk, Customer Service, Contact Management, and Project Management.

"Commence 2000 is specifically designed to provide the small- to mid-size market with a comprehensive, highly functional solution to centrally manage critical customer information," said Larry Caretsky, President of Commence Corporation. "We are pleased to partner with Softmart to make the Commence 2000 solution increasingly available to the growing number of small businesses around the world."

About Softmart

Softmart is a leading global supplier of packaged software, software licenses, and hardware enhancement products to business and government markets. The company offers wide product selection, competitive products, innovation in distribution and fulfillment services, high-level customer service, and tier-two technical support to their customers. Their expertise is in helping customers reduce their overall cost of procuring software and hardware through a combination of in-depth license program knowledge, close relationships with software and hardware manufacturers, a strong technical support team, and advanced electronic services. Softmart was founded in 1983 and is based in the Philadelphia area. Their Web address is www.softmart.com.

About Commence Corporation

Founded in 1988, Commence Corporation is a leading provider of e-business and customer relationship management (CRM) software solutions. The company's products are designed to provide small- to medium-sized businesses with flexible solutions that leverage the Web to offer an integrated platform for e-business. Commence supports thousands of users through a worldwide distribution network, with outlets in North and South America, Europe, and Asia/Pacific. For more information, contact Commence Corporation at 732-660-0990, or visit the company's Web site at www.commence.com.

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