SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—October 06, 2011 —QAD Inc. (NASDAQ: QADA) (NASDAQ: QADB), a leading provider of enterprise software and services for global manufacturing companies, today announced the results of its first customer satisfaction survey aimed at measuring its customers’ experiences with and perceptions of QAD On Demand, its cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution delivered in a Software as a Service (SaaS) model.
Overall, QAD reported that over 95 percent of respondents rated their experience with QAD On Demand as positive in the areas of implementation, ease of use, functionality, system performance, value and customer service. Ninety-five percent of respondents’ also reported willingness to refer QAD On Demand to other companies. This response supports QAD‘s assertion that on demand and platform independence are critical success factors in meeting customers’ ERP needs
"Many companies that come to QAD have had difficult ERP implementations in the past," explained Carter Lloyds, vice president of Marketing Operations for QAD. “That’s why we are so pleased to learn our customers’ overall experience with QAD On Demand is extremely positive, especially as it relates to implementation and a willingness to share their experience with others.”
QAD surveyed all of its global customers that are using the QAD On Demand offering. QAD surveyed such criteria as motivations for choosing QAD On Demand; product functionality, availability, performance, implementation and ease of use; and willingness to recommend the product.
When asked about their motivation for selecting QAD On Demand, the top three responses, rated in descending order, were Fewer IT Resources, Cost Effectiveness, and Speed of Implementation. These responses support industry assertions that SaaS ERP adoption will continue to grow due to shrinking IT budgets and companies seeking faster deployments with quicker return on investment.
One of the key areas QAD is focused on in delivering a competitive product is its Easy On Boarding deployment methodology, which promotes simplicity and easier implementation. Ninety-six percent of survey respondents rated the ease of implementation between acceptable and excellent and 70 percent rated this attribute good to excellent. “Given the survey results, it appears our efforts are working,” said Gordon Fleming, chief marketing officer for QAD.
QAD also reported an impressive response to its survey question regarding product availability. QAD’s Service Level Agreement guarantees 99.5 percent system availability, yet the company routinely reports customers’ boasting upwards of 99.9 percent availability. To that end, Fleming also noted no surprises when its survey respondents expressed 100 percent satisfaction with the availability of QAD On Demand.
QAD On Demand is QAD's cloud ERP software solution focused exclusively on global manufacturing needs. It is designed to alleviate companies' IT burden, risk and the variables associated with on premise deployments, and provide predictable costs, reliable system availability and regular software upgrades and maintenance. To learn more, visit QAD’s On Demand website.
About QAD
QAD is a leading provider of enterprise applications for global manufacturing companies specializing in automotive, consumer products, electronics, food and beverage, industrial and life science products. QAD applications provide critical functionality for managing manufacturing resources and operations within and beyond the enterprise, enabling global manufacturers to collaborate with their customers, suppliers and partners to make and deliver the right product, at the right cost and at the right time. For more information about QAD, telephone +1 805-566-6000, or visit the QAD web site at www.qad.com.
"QAD" is a registered trademark of QAD Inc. All other products or company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to Investors: This press release contains certain forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “could,” “will likely result,” “estimates,” “intends,” “may,” “projects,” “should,” and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on the company’s current expectations and assumptions regarding its business, the economy and future conditions. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to, evolving demand for the company's software products and products that operate with the company's products; the company's ability to sustain license and service demand; the company's ability to leverage changes in technology; the company's ability to sustain customer renewal rates at curren levels; the publication of opinions by industry and financial analysts about the company, its products and technology; the reliability of estimates of transaction and integration costs and benefits; the entry of new competitors or new offerings by existing competitors and the associated announcement of new products and technological advances by them; delays in localizing the company's products for new or existing markets; the ability to recruit and retain key personnel; delays in sales as a result of lengthy sales cycles; changes in operating expenses, pricing, timing of new product releases, the method of product distribution or product mix; timely and effective integration of newly acquired businesses; general economic conditions; exchange rate fluctuations; and, the global political environment. In addition, revenue and earnings in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) software industry are subject to fluctuations. Software license revenue, in particular, is subject to variability with a significant prop tion of revenue earned in the last month of each quarter. Given the high margins associated with license revenue, modest fluctuations can have a substantial impact on net income. Investors should not use any one quarter's results as a benchmark for future performance. For a more detailed description of the risk factors associated with the company and the industries in which it operates, please refer to the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2011 ended January 31, 2011, and in particular, the section entitled “Risk Factors” therein, and in other periodic reports the company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission.