SupportSoft Expands Worldwide Sales Organization (email this article)

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SupportSoft (Company Profile, Past Stories, Case Studies), Inc. (Nasdaq: SPRT - News), a leading provider of Real-Time Service Management software, today announced that it has expanded its worldwide sales and global services organizations, extending its international market coverage and adding to the Company's expertise to meet the customer service needs of digital service providers for the "triple play" of VoIP, video and broadband delivery. New offices and senior management have been added in both the European and Asia-Pacific regions.


SupportSoft has extended its European sales coverage through the addition of offices in France, the Netherlands and Germany. The Company has also opened a new European Centre of Excellence in Belgium to provide the ability to serve customer needs for professional services throughout Europe.

Rony Rotthier has been appointed to lead SupportSoft's new European Centre of Excellence based in Brussels, Belgium. The Centre is focused on delivering a complete portfolio of SupportSoft products and consulting services for digital service providers across Europe. Mr. Rotthier has been instrumental in the successful design and implementation of SupportSoft solutions at leading European service providers such as Belgacom, KPN and Tiscali among others.

Francois Dumont has been named regional sales manager for Western Europe. Based in Paris, France, he is responsible for driving SupportSoft's sales efforts within French speaking countries. Mr. Dumont has more than 20 years of sales management experience including positions at TIBCO, Steria, Iona Technologies and Clarify.

Oliver Metzker has been appointed regional manager for Central Europe and is based in Munich, Germany. In his new role, Mr. Metzker will focus on expanding SupportSoft's presence in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Mr. Metzker has more than 16 years of sales experience including positions at Unisys, Informix, Siemens and IBM. Most recently, he served as the country manager for Exigen, a business process software and services provider, where he successfully developed the company's partner sales strategy and program.

Robert van Wijk, based in the Netherlands, joins SupportSoft from Core Networks to extend the Company's European sales operations' coverage. Mr. van Wijk most recently served as vice president of European operations for Core Networks (see press release titled: "SupportSoft completes Core Networks Acquisition" released September 3, 2004) and carries a multi-disciplinary background that includes serving as general counsel for Lucent Technologies. Prior to Lucent, van Wijk was responsible for product management and business development at DeltaKabel Telecom B.V., a leading European cable modem manufacturer.

Asia-Pacific

SupportSoft has added a new sales office in India to complement existing Company sales offices in Australia, Singapore and Tokyo. Further, it has appointed a new vice president to lead its digital service provider sales development initiatives throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Terry Poindexter has been appointed vice president of business development, Asia-Pacific (APAC). Mr. Poindexter will focus on SupportSoft digital service provider sales and partner expansion throughout the APAC region. A senior executive with nearly two decades of experience in sales and business development, Mr. Poindexter was most recently vice president of worldwide sales for Core Networks. He has held similar roles at Stargus, a network and performance management software company, and Dorado Software, an EMS solutions provider to Network Equipment Manufacturers.

Building upon the success of its research and development center in Bangalore, India, SupportSoft has expanded its local operations to include the sale of its software in India with the hiring of Anurag Gupta as regional manager of sales. Anurag has more than 10 years of management experience in sales and business development at Digital Equipment, Compaq Computer, Computer Associates and most recently, Intertec Systems in Dubai, U.A.E. He has managed enterprise IT software sales, projects, consulting and outsourcing both in India and abroad.

"SupportSoft solutions have proven that they can make a business difference in a diverse set of industries and geographies, whether it is an enterprise seeking to ensure business continuity or a digital service provider wanting to assure customer satisfaction for the rapidly emerging 'triple play' of voice, video and high speed data delivery," said John Van Siclen, SupportSoft senior vice president of worldwide field operations. "Meeting global demand requires having the right people in the right places. I believe that with the seasoned expertise these new appointments bring to the European and Asia-Pacific regions, SupportSoft is well positioned to further extend the benefits of our software to even more customers worldwide."

About SupportSoft

SupportSoft is a leading provider of Real-Time Service Management (RTSM(TM)) software designed to ease enterprise technical support, provide for IT endpoint automation and enable triple play service automation for VoIP, video or broadband delivery by service providers to their customers. Digital service providers benefiting from SupportSoft solutions include Adelphia Communications, BellSouth, Charter Communications, Comcast Communications, Cox Communications, Time Warner, TeliaSonera and UPC. Enterprises that have licensed SupportSoft software for IT requirements include ADP, Bank of America, BT, IBM, Procter & Gamble, Siebel Systems, Sony and Thomson Financial. Managed service providers that utilize the Company's solutions to provide outsourced services to their enterprise customers include Accenture, ACS, CGI, CompuCom, CSC and IBM Global Services.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These are statements that relate to future events and include, but are not limited to, the expected contributions by the above-mentioned individuals to the Company, the initiatives in which the Company may invest, and the ability to extend the benefits of the Software to more customers worldwide, which are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could result in actual results from these efforts to vary. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: personal factors related to such individuals, SupportSoft's ability to manage its international expansion effectively, competition from other vendors, SupportSoft's ability to achieve broad adoption and acceptance of its Real-Time Service Management products and services, the impact of international conflict and continued economic downturns in either domestic or foreign markets, the rapid pace of technological change, as well as other risks detailed from time to time in our SEC filings, including those described in the section "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations -- Other Factors Affecting our Business and Operating Results" in its Quarterly Report on Form 10- Q . Statements included in this release are based upon information known to SupportSoft as of the date of this release, and SupportSoft assumes no obligation to update information contained in this press.
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