Product News and Announcements

Kirklees College, Accent Group and Commensus plc, all sign contracts for the Cherwell Service Management Solution

Cherwell Software, the developers of Cherwell Service Management, has recently signed three significant contracts; in housing, education and with a managed service provider.

Tony Probert, European managing director, confirmed that the company is anticipating a successful 2010 based on recent sales and current opportunities. “UK prospects continue to be surprised by the enterprise functionality that our solution offers, particularly when they consider our realistic pricing model, the ease of implementation and minimal ongoing management costs”

Cherwell Service Management, finalist in the Pink Elephant ITSM ‘Innovation of the Year’ award, is a comprehensive ITIL v3 service desk solution which is not only easy to customise, but powerful, intuitive, and cost-effective. The software is designed for IT support professionals and offers “out of the box” functionality and unmatched customisation and configurability for users wishing to customise: screens, workflow, business processes and build new integrated applications leveraging Cherwell’s unique CBAT (Codeless Business Application Technology) platform.

Alan Cottrill, ICT projects portfolio manager at Accent Group, confirms: “As a large national group with over 20,000 properties managed by three housing associations, we face a significant challenge in providing a cohesive IT support service that will meet immediate needs and be able to grow with us as our needs change. Having looked at over 10 different suppliers Accent selected Cherwell who provided the answer to pretty much every issue by being well constructed, modern, user friendly and meeting many of our process and reporting requirements straight out of the box. In addition, it represents exceptional value for money. We plan to move towards ITIL implementation in the future so
choosing a flexible system built around ITIL principles was important to us too. Finally, we loved the capacity to build our own solutions quickly and easily without incurring significant project development fees.”

At Kirklees College, George Robertson, Director of IT also turned to Cherwell whilst overseeing the extensive implications for IT after Dewsbury and Huddersfield colleges were amalgamated in 2008. As he explained: “The entire support approach needed to be reviewed for 1,500 staff and 30,000 students and time was one of our biggest challenges. One of the most appealing aspects of Cherwell was its
ability to quickly and easily identify what service improvements could be made where. The software*s design makes it particularly easy to use and roll out. We’ve been very impressed with Cherwell*s breadth too ; I’ve had past experience of large service desk systems and Cherwell offers a vast range of functionality at a fraction of the price. For instance, reporting back to users on progress will become
far easier and users will be able to log on to track their own calls and check status all of which builds towards improved customer satisfaction.”

The third deal signed is with Commensus, which has a wide range of clients from a mixture of industries and sectors. The range of challenges presented by its clients can vary greatly depending on their individual need. Alex Parker, chief technology officer of Commensus, explains: “Having the flexibility to deal with the unpredictable is very important to us, we offer so many different solutions that support needs to be equally flexible. To meet the challenge we needed an enterprise class service and our old system was starting to look outdated. Cherwell was able to provide us with a solution that punches well above its weight; it’s a first class product at a price that can’t be matched by its competitors.”

The Cherwell Service Management solution is available via the traditional license model or alternatively, on demand in a Software as a Service (SaaS) subscription model . To ensure excellent levels of service and support, Cherwell Software is working alongside CRMWorks, IT Service Management and service desk specialists, as its full service delivery partner and is working closely with them to ensure that these contracts are delivered successfully and speedily.

Colorado Springs, CO, March 20, 2009 – Cherwell Software, Inc., Innovative Technology Built on Yesterday’s Values, today announced that its breakthrough help desk product, Cherwell Service Management™ - with Pink Verified ITIL V3 content - is now available through a “Software-as-a-Service” (“SaaS”) deployment model. This service is in addition to its already popular On-Premise deployment model.

Cherwell On-Demand is a SaaS model that allows organizations to utilize the software in a hosted environment without any capital expenditure. Instead, expenses for licensing, hosting and maintaining the software are paid out of the operating budget. This offers lower start-up costs because the application licenses are leased rather than owned.

Cherwell On-Demand has an added benefit – a “lease to own” option, giving customers the best of both worlds. Each year that a customer uses Cherwell On-Demand equates to a discount on license fees for Cherwell On-Premise, Cherwell’s traditional concurrent user license model, should a customer elect at a later date to switch models and bring the application in-house.

“Our dual deployment approach offers much more flexibility,” said Vance Brown, Chairman and CEO of Cherwell Software. “We work with your company to determine which deployment best suits your current needs. If you change your mind later – or if your business requirements change – no problem! Our approach offers the ability to switch from one to the other.”

Cherwell On-Demand allows companies to take advantage of the SaaS model, but still offer the strength of a smart client application. Aptly termed “hybrid SaaS,” this model mitigates three of the greatest limitations of a traditional browser-based SaaS model – customization, data control, and user experience. “Customers want a choice,” said Arlen Feldman, Chief Technology Officer for Cherwell. “We offer our customers a level of customization and control over their business processes and data that is hard to find under a browser-based SaaS model. We believe we have the most customizable SaaS model on the market today. And we offer a far superior user experience. This hybrid approach represents the next generation of SaaS deployment.”

With Cherwell’s entrance into the SaaS market, Cherwell Software continues to deliver innovative technology by offering the most flexibility in the Service Management software industry today. Please visit www.cherwellsoftware.com for more information about Cherwell Software.

About Cherwell Software, Inc.

Cherwell Software is a leading developer of IT Service Management software solutions. Cherwell Service Management, the flagship product, was designed from the ground up, using Microsoft’s .NET technology and out-of-the-box ITIL best practices. With fully-integrated management modules such as Incident, Problem, Change, Release, Configuration, Service Level, and Knowledge – just to name a few, Cherwell provides a holistic approach to service management, allowing IT and support departments to align themselves with the businesses they support. Cherwell offers enterprise power with mid-market pricing and ease of use. Satisfied Cherwell customers include companies such as TV Guide, The Weather Channel, Ent Federal Credit Union, The University of Minnesota, Hallmark Services, and Rosetta Stone.

Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Cherwell Software was founded, and is managed, by a team of industry experts – including the former CEO of FrontRange Solutions, the former Chief Architect of FrontRange’s HEAT® and ITSM™ product lines, and the founder and past CEO of the Help Desk Institute (HDI). We are passionate about customer care, and dedicated toward “building innovative technology based on yesterday values.”

ITIL is a Registered Trademark, and a Registered Community Trademark of the Office of Government Commerce. Cherwell Service Management™ and the Cherwell are the property of Cherwell Software, Inc. Other products, brands and trademarks are property of their respective owners/companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved.