Electrolux Contract Win

Embargoed Release: 07:00hrs Wednesday 19th April 2006 Sopheon plc (`Sopheon') Electrolux Licenses Sopheon's Accolade Solution for Enterprise-Wide Deployment World's Leading Producer of Home Appliances Will Implement System to Enhance and Manage Innovation Processes Sopheon, an international software and services company, announced today that Electrolux, a global appliance manufacturer, has selected Sopheon's Accolade as its innovation process and product portfolio management solution. Electrolux will deploy the Sopheon system under an enterprise-wide agreement that covers company locations throughout Europe, the Americas, and the Asia-Pacific region, encompassing all product areas including Major, Floor Care and Small Appliances. Access will initially be provided to approximately 1400 users. Sopheon said that the licenses and services order is among the most financially substantial in its history. The contract - described as imminent in Sopheon's results announcement issued yesterday - has now been signed. Specific terms were not disclosed. Electrolux is the world's leading producer of home appliances for kitchen and cleaning use. Its products are sold in more than 150 countries under such well-known brands as AEG-Electrolux, Electrolux, Frigidaire and Eureka. Electrolux has stated publicly in recent months that product development is one of its core processes and that innovation is key to its ability to sustain its position of market leadership. Electrolux has since year 2000 almost doubled its investments in product research and development. Electrolux's adoption of Accolade is part of a broad initiative by the company to change the way it develops new products. Electrolux will use Accolade's capabilities to help it more effectively prioritize investments in new product ideas and to guide its resource support for enhancements to existing products. The company expects Accolade to help it strengthen the alignment between innovation strategies and day-to-day development activity, and to enable improved global collaboration among cross-functional teams responsible for conception and development of new products. Electrolux will also benefit from Accolade's capacity to integrate with Microsoft technology, allowing the company to extend the use and value of the Microsoft systems deployed throughout the company's worldwide operations. Sopheon partnered with Arthur D. Little, the global management consulting firm, in pursuing the Electrolux opportunity. Electrolux, Sopheon and Arthur D. Little will work together to implement the new system. "We measure innovation by the amount of business and shareholder value it generates," said Johan Hjertonsson, director of Electrolux's consumer innovation program. "Our goal is to continue to lead our industry in revenues and profits from innovation by supplying the market with a steady stream of premium, new-to-the-world products that consumers want. We chose Sopheon's solution because it will help us make the right front-end decisions on which product ideas to invest in, and enable us to increase the speed, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the processes we use to move those product ideas from the drafting table to the marketplace. Accolade is the most complete tool we've found for supporting the business of innovation." "The Electrolux name is synonymous with innovation in the appliance industry," said Mike Connolly, European director for Sopheon. "And their strategies for maintaining their position of innovation leadership are clearly drawn. Accolade's capabilities are perfectly matched with Electrolux's requirements for increasing the visibility and coordination of its global product development efforts." Sopheon Accolade® is a registered trademark of Sopheon plc. Frigidaire, Kelvinator and Eureka are registered trademarks of the Electrolux Group. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners. About Electrolux The Electrolux Group is the world's leading producer of powered appliances for kitchen, cleaning and outdoor use, such as refrigerators, washing machines, cookers, vacuum cleaners, chainsaws, lawn mowers, and garden tractors. Every year, customers in more than 150 countries buy more than 55 million Electrolux Group products for both consumer and professional use. In 2005, Electrolux had sales of SEK 129 billion and 70,000 employees. About Sopheon Sopheon (LSE: SPE) is an international provider of software and services that help organizations improve the business impact of product development. The Sopheon Accolade® product development system automates gate- or phase-based product development processes and provides strategic decision support that allows companies to improve innovation, cut product development spending waste and shorten time to market. Sopheon is listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange and on the Euronext in the Netherlands. For more information, please visit www.sopheon.com. Arif Karimjee, CFO Sopheon plc Tel : + 44 (0) 1483 685 735 Andrew Tan Hansard Communications Tel : + 44 (0) 207 245 1100 + 44 (0) 7957 203 685 Frank Jansen Citigate First Financial Tel : + 31 (0) 205 754 024

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