IMPRESS SOFTWARE , the leading supplier of pre-packaged Integration Applications (I.Apps™), announced the signing of a new contract with a major US-based oil and gas company. Initial contract value exceeds $700,000, with an overall potential value of $1.5M over the next year.

In addition to the funding, the Company also announced today that it has appointed Warren Utt as its CEO. The Company has also incorporated as a US-based corporation, and has officially moved its corporate headquarters from Hannover, Germany to Waltham, Mass. in the United States. The latest funding will be used to expand IMPRESS SOFTWARE's US operations and develop additional IMPRESS SOFTWARE packaged integration applications, called I.Apps(TM), to further enable quick and cost-effective deployment of business processes across multiple enterprise systems.

Enterprises today still find themselves with the challenge of maximizing their existing technology investments to stay competitive while simultaneously needing to justify the total cost of ownership for each new initiative they embark on. Integrating key enterprise systems remains the answer for companies seeking to standardize business processes and gain operational efficiencies. However, the existing solution to this problem includes rigidly integrating applications through custom-built interfaces that ultimately prevent IT from being able to change quickly for competitive advantage.

"Countless companies spent millions of dollars cobbling together their key systems through custom interfaces and now are painfully realizing their costly integration work has made it prohibitive to upgrade their systems. Our unique 'packaged application' approach to solving this problem helps companies leverage industry best practices and standardize their key business processes across disparate systems using prebuilt, easily-upgradeable integration applications," said Warren Utt, IMPRESS SOFTWARE's new CEO. "This approach is clearly emerging as a natural solution to these challenges that also minimizes total cost of ownership, and I'm looking forward to helping IMPRESS SOFTWARE capitalize on the opportunity to solve this crucial business problem with our customers."

With more than 24 years of industry experience, Warren is recognized as an innovative senior executive with a track record for successfully identifying and capitalizing on emerging market opportunities and building programs to capture global and national accounts within the public and private sectors. Most recently, Warren held the role of Senior Vice President of the Worldwide Field Organization for Broadvision in Redwood City, California. Prior to Broadvision, he held the position of CEO and President of Contentra, where he led the Company from its founding to its acquisition by North American Media Engines. Warren also served as CEO of Continuum Software, where he successfully led two rounds of financing and redirected the company's strategy. Earlier in his career he held key sales, marketing and alliance management positions with Deloitte Consulting, EDS, Interleaf, InterOPS and Wang.

"Warren brings to IMPRESS SOFTWARE the unique combination of extensive experience in the packaged application marketplace with a deep knowledge and understanding of the SAP ecosystem. With the Company relocating its headquarters to the United States, I look forward to working closely with Warren and the strong IMPRESS SOFTWARE team to further deliver on its vision of reducing many of the barriers associated with effectively and efficiently running SAP with other business critical enterprise systems, regardless of vendor," said David Orfao. "Major organizations, including Bayer, Dupont and Halliburton already are benefiting from IMPRESS SOFTWARE's packaged software approach to integrating disparate enterprise systems with SAP - helping these organizations standardize business processes and ensure data integrity across the extended enterprise in a matter of days, not the typical months and years. IMPRESS SOFTWARE's established traction and success in the marketplace makes this a very attractive investment opportunity."

Certified by SAP, IMPRESS I.Apps help companies to integrate specific third party software products, such as project management and GIS systems, into the SAP ecosystem in a manner that is quick to implement, cost-effective, leverages industry best practices and that is upgradeable for future versions of SAP and the connected systems. Existing I.App's include:

Project I.App(TM), a pre-packaged, out-of-the-box Integration Application that links SAP(R) with major project scheduling and management products, such as Primavera and Microsoft Project. Project I.App integrates the business processes of project and maintenance planning and enterprise resource planning (ERP) that would otherwise run independently of each other. Ensuring data is consistent across all systems at all times, Project I.App eliminates the need for duplicate data entry and the risk of mismatched schedules and resources.

Geo I.App(TM) is a pre-packaged application for synchronization of location-related data between SAP and ESRI's ArcGIS. The application provides all the functionality needed to easily establish, manage, and monitor the data synchronization process. Ensuring geographical data is consistent across all systems at all times, Geo I.App eliminates the need for duplicate data entry and the risk of mismatched locations and resources.

About Carmel Ventures Carmel Ventures is Israel's largest software-focused fund. Led by former entrepreneurs and executives of the software, communications and investment industries, Carmel provides active, hands-on support to its Israeli, European and US portfolio companies. Carmel has offices in Herzliya, Israel and London, and a worldwide network of industry, strategic and investment resources. With $171 million in commitments from a strong investor base that includes Citigroup, GroveStreet, Siemens, The Partners Group, VCM and other leading worldwide investors, Carmel provides significant capital and support throughout the growth cycle of its portfolio companies. For more information, please visit www.carmelventures.com

About General Catalyst Partners General Catalyst Partners is a private equity firm that invests in exceptional entrepreneurs and technical founders who are building the software solution and technology platform companies that will lead innovation and transform industries. Founded in 2000, General Catalyst Partners leverages its principals' extensive operational, business development and technological expertise to provide portfolio companies with a catalyst for success through business building and partnership development assistance. General Catalyst is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. For more information, please visit www.generalcatalyst.com

About TVM Techno Venture Management (TVM), founded in 1983, is one of the first venture capital funds formed in Germany and a leader in transatlantic operations. The German-U.S. venture capital company has offices in Munich and Boston. For many years, TVM has focused on information and communications technology and life sciences, high growth sectors where innovation, effective management and sound financial backing have an enormous impact on a company's ability to prosper and generate value. TVM funds have made investments in over 220 technology companies in Europe and the United States. Many of these enterprises went public on U.S. or European stock exchanges or were sold to strategic acquirers. For more information, please visit www.tvmvc.com

About IMPRESS SOFTWARE Headquartered in Waltham, Mass., IMPRESS SOFTWARE provides packaged enterprise integration applications for SAP customers. Called I.Apps(TM), these applications enable quick and cost-effective deployment of streamlined business processes across multiple enterprise systems. IMPRESS I.Apps are ready-made combinations of pre-defined integration elements. Coupled with tools that enable flexible implementation of custom and specific integration scenarios, IMPRESS I.Apps allow integration to be completed at a fraction of the time and cost compared to traditional EAI development platforms. IMPRESS customers include global leaders such as Bayer, Dupont, Halliburton, Nebraska Public Power District, Ontario Power Generation, Valero, and Total.

I.App is a registered trademark of IMPRESS SOFTWARE. Primavera is a registered trademark of Primavera Systems, Inc. SAP, mySAP, and all other SAP product and service names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and several other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.