IBM and SSA Global Provide Customers Simplified Path to ERP on Service-Oriented Architecture

SSA Global(TM) (Nasdaq: SSAG), a leading global provider of enterprise business software and services, today announced that it is teaming with IBM to deliver an end-to-end software and hardware solution to help small to medium-sized manufacturers quickly and cost effectively deploy a proven enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution delivered on a service-oriented architecture (SOA).

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The solution features SSA ERP(LN), SSA Global's flagship enterprise resource planning solution, pre-loaded and integrated on an IBM AMD Opteron(TM) processor-based BladeCenter Linux platform. The bundled solution also includes SSA Integration for connectivity to SSA ERP(LN), IBM WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus, IBM WebSphere Application Server, IBM DB2 and the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell.

"With this combined hardware and software solution from SSA Global, IBM and our partners, discrete hybrid manufacturers can significantly reduce the time and cost of implementing an ERP solution on a state-of-the-art technology platform," said Graeme Cooksley, executive vice president, SSA Global. "This is particularly beneficial for small-to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that now have access to a best-in-class solution that can help them achieve the IT agility made possible by service-oriented architectures at an affordable price."

"SOA improves businesses' ability to meet market needs and can help lower costs by encouraging reuse of IT assets and making integration of business systems easier," said Sandy Carter, vice president, WebSphere and SOA, IBM. "With this announcement, IBM and SSA Global are providing small- and medium- sized businesses with a flexible infrastructure built on WebSphere to improve businesses' ability to meet market needs."

By adopting a service-oriented architecture, SMBs can enhance their overall business agility. Through leveraging the emergence of Web services and industry-wide standards, customers can get more value from their software investments and realize greater IT flexibility. The bundled solution has been designed to serve the long-term needs of SMBs by providing an SOA foundation that can be easily scaled up as their business and IT needs change.

SSA ERP(LN) is based on SSA Open Architecture, a state-of-the-art, open standards technology architecture that enables customers to take an evolutionary and ROI-based strategy towards adopting the SOA paradigm. SSA ERP(LN) has been designed to offer the functionality critical to the success of order-driven, project-based discrete hybrid manufacturers.

By leveraging the AMD Opteron LS20 for IBM BladeCenter, customers will be able to reduce their server floor space by as much as 50% and reduce power costs by as much as 33%. The Novell SUSE Linux platform and Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors with Direct Connect Architecture deliver industry leading 64-bit performance-per-watt and native dual-core processing to support larger customer workloads.

The solution, SSA ERP(LN) pre-loaded on the IBM BladeCenter, is available in North America with plans to expand availability in other regions.

About SSA Global

SSA Global(TM) (Nasdaq: SSAG) is a leading provider of enterprise business software for mid-sized and large organizations, primarily in select manufacturing, consumer and services industries. The company's software solutions include enterprise resource planning, financial management, human capital management, corporate performance management, customer relationship management, product lifecycle management, supply chain management and supplier relationship management. Headquartered in Chicago, SSA Global has over 50 locations worldwide and its product offerings are used by customers in over 90 countries. For additional information, visit the SSA Global web site at http://www.ssaglobal.com .

SSA Global(TM) is the corporate brand for product lines and subsidiaries of SSA Global Technologies, Inc. SSA Global, SSA Global Technologies and SSA GT are trademarks of SSA Global Technologies, Inc. Other products mentioned in this document are registered, trademarked or service marked by their respective owners.

Forward-Looking Statements

These materials may contain "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain the words "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "estimate," "intend," "project," "plan," "will be," "will likely continue," " will likely result," or words or phrases with similar meaning. All of these forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by our management that, although we believe to be reasonable, are inherently uncertain. Forward- looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors outside of our control that may cause our business, strategy or actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. We operate in a changing environment in which new risks can emerge from time to time. It is not possible for management to predict all of these risks, nor can it assess the extent to which any factor, or a combination of factors, may cause our business, strategy or actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements. Factors you should consider that could cause these differences include, among other things:

-- General economic and business conditions, including exchange rate

fluctuations in the United States and abroad;

-- Our ability to identify acquisition opportunities and effectively and

cost-efficiently integrate acquisitions;

-- Our ability to maintain effective internal control over financial

reporting;

-- Our ability to attract and retain personnel, including key personnel;

-- Our success in developing and introducing new services and products;

-- Competition in the software industry, as it relates to both our

existing and potential new customers.

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