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Press Release


Progress Software Introduces Location & Context-Based Solution for the Communications Industry

May 24, 2011

BEDFORD, MA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 05/24/11 -- Progress Software Corporation(NASDAQ: PRGS), a leading software provider that enables enterprises to be operationally responsive today announced the introduction of the Progress® Situation-Based Promotion solution accelerator. This new solution accelerator, which is the first of its kind in the market, is built for communication service providers (CSPs) and provides them with powerful real-time marketing capabilities. It bolsters the Progress communications solutions portfolio by enabling CSPs to continuously monitor millions of concurrent users, all of whom are generating events comprising location, context and preferences and their associated real-time events. It also empowers CSPs to dramatically enhance their customers' overall experience.

The Situation-Based Promotion solution accelerator provides CSPs with the ability to deliver precisely-targeted, location-based advertising and highly-personalized promotions using a customer's cell-phone usage patterns, interests, social network preferences and other customer-relevant profiles in real-time. Marketing managers will immediately benefit from this solution as it can increase impulse purchasing by delivering real-time promotions or advertising to a person's mobile device, and motivating an immediate customer response. It will also dramatically improve direct marketing effectiveness as messages and promotions sent are based on persona-based criteria relevant to the customer.

The Situation-Based Promotion solution accelerator is built on the Progress Responsive Process Management™ platform and leverages the unique, in-built, spatially-aware, Progress Apama® complex event processing functionality. This enables CSPs to better manage multiple marketing campaigns by providing them with the combination of three powerful capabilities that run continuously and in real-time comprising: (a) in-depth visibility and analytics into customer call patterns and each promotion; (b) strong sense and responsive capabilities allowing users to detect usage patterns from mobile device users providing a near predictive capability; and, (c) the agility to immediately adjust promotional programs and processes when needed. This means that marketing managers can gather and analyze real-time and historical target customer call and usage patterns, their location and their personal preferences; they can run targeted promotions based on relevant criteria, immediately view responses and adjust promotions in real-time based upon the promotion's results.

Most importantly, if a promotion is not working well or a marketing manager wishes to introduce a new promotion, these changes can be made quickly and easily since they can manage all aspects of the campaign through a single, interactive interface, called the Progress Control Tower. This also accelerates the time to market for new marketing campaigns. Moreover, marketing managers can expect higher response rates when using a situation-based promotion solution because relevant promotions are sent to the targeted customer at a time and place that they can most easily take action.

Susan McNeice, vice president, Software Research, Yankee Group, noted: "To continue growth and build a more loyal customer base, service providers need to be able to identify and sell relevant services on a real-time basis. By correlating variables such as real-time usage with customer preferences and location-based information, service providers can trigger targeted promotional offers. This type of insight maximizes revenue opportunity and enhances the customer experience, today's key competitive differentiator."

In a recent study conducted by independent market research firm Vanson Bourne, 76 percent of CSPs surveyed believe that real-time promotions based on customer usage patterns would help retain their customers. 80 percent indicate real-time promotions would increase customer spending.

Sanjay Kumar, industry vice president of Communications and Media, Progress Software, commented: "A global mobile service provider, who recently implemented our solution, is already achieving a 10-fold improvement by using situation-based promotions and they are generating higher revenue. As customers respond to these promotions, the CSP can develop a one-to-one relationship helping to build brand loyalty. As they develop their purchasing or response history, they can improve their marketing messages for future campaigns."

The Situation-Based Promotion solution accelerator is fully compatible with the Progress communications solutions portfolio and combines with the other communication solution accelerators (Communications Order management, Integrated Trouble Management and Order Visibility and Assurance) to provide an end-to-end customer experience management control console for visibility and responsiveness across all the different CSP touch-points with their customers.

Progress Software empowers communications service providers to enhance the overall customer experience in a way that traditional marketing solutions cannot by providing them with highly adaptable, quick-to-implement solutions that leverage their existing infrastructure. Many of the world's leading communication companies use Progress communications solutions, including Belgacom, Level3, Qwest, Alcatel-Lucent, China Mobile, Verizon, Frontier Communications, H3G - 3 Italia, Huawei, Sprint, Portugal Telecom, Orange UK, One.Tel HK, Cablevision, Telecom Italia, and many more.

About Progress Software Corporation
Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGS) is an enterprise software company that enables businesses to be operationally responsive to changing conditions and customer interactions as they occur -- to capitalize on new opportunities, drive greater efficiencies and reduce risk. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of best-in-class enterprise software spanning event-driven visibility and real-time response, open integration, data access and integration, and application development and deployment -- all supporting on-premises and SaaS/Cloud deployments. Progress maximizes the benefits of operational responsiveness while minimizing IT complexity and total cost of ownership. Progress can be reached at www.progress.com or +1-781-280-4000.

Progress, Progress Responsive Process Management, Apama are trademarks or registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation or one of its subsidiaries or affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Any other marks contained herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Press Contacts:

Rachel HarndenProgress Software (EMEA)

+44 (0)1344 386387

rharnden@progress.com



Tim FocasLEWIS PR

+44 (0)207 802 2626

timf@lewispr.com



Source: Progress Software Corporation

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