iLumen:PressReleases

iLumen Announces Trending Private Company Industry Benchmarking Services for Sage Software Business Partners

Services Enable Sage Business Partners to Benchmark Success and Chart Strategy for Continued Growth

ATLANTA, GA, May 17, 2005 - iLumen Inc. today announced an agreement with Sage Software (formerly Best Software) to offer iLumen’s trending private company industry benchmarking services for Sage Software Business partners. The announcement was made today at Insights 2005, the company’s third annual company-wide business partner conference, held in Dallas, Texas.

“Sage Software builds its success every day in concert with its channel partners, and we are unique in providing business building services that partners need to chart and manage their success” said Taylor Macdonald, Executive Vice President Sage Software, Channel and Sales Operations, Mid-Market Division. “Knowing how your company measures up against key business drivers is critical for developing ongoing growth. With iLumen’s services, Sage Business Partners, will now have the ability to close out their interim books and in one step upload their information and see their key financial trends and growth metrics charted against their industry peers on a trailing twelve month, trailing quarterly and annual basis.”

At Insights 2005, Macdonald announced the availability, through iLumen, of trending financial benchmarking information for Sage Business Partners based on anonymously aggregated information from a number of Sage partners and other Value Added Resellers in the industry.

“Previously, private companies had no effective way to understand if their businesses were growing as compared to relevant industry peer groups,” said Robert H. Woosley, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of iLumen. “iLumen’s network of private company financial information is standardized at a very granular level with a large number of companies frequently reporting into the system. This combination allows Sage Business partners to see relevant comparisons of frequently updated industry trends, all in an easy-to-use, web-enabled process.”

iLumen’s benchmarking services allow participating companies to see comparative industry trends and define relevant industry peer groups based on company size, geography and other peer-group filters.

“Sage Software’s corporate vision is centered on providing the insight for our customers to succeed,” said Macdonald. “Providing relevant and meaningful trending industry peer group information to our Business Partners’ desktops is an example of how Sage Software supports its channel partners and customers.”

About Sage Software (formerly Best Software)
Sage Software offers leading business management products and services that support the needs, challenges and dreams of more than 2.3 million small and mid-sized customers in North America. Its parent company, The Sage Group plc (London: SGE.L), supports 4.4 million customers worldwide. For more than 25 years, Sage Software has delivered easy-to-use, scalable and customizable applications through its portfolio of leading brands, including Abra, ACCPAC, ACT!, BusinessWorks, CPASoftware, FAS, MAS 90, MAS 200, MAS 500, MIP, Peachtree, SalesLogix, and Timberline Office, among many others. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.bestsoftware.com/moreinfo or call (866) 308-BEST.

About iLumen
iLumen, Inc. (www.iLumen.com), an Atlanta-based financial services company, provides a financial information network that enables virtual business communities. iLumen allows private companies to submit, analyze, aggregate and deliver their financial data in collaboration with their trusted financial advisers including banks, accounting firms and other authorized third parties. iLumen connects private companies with leading accounting firms, financial institutions and industry partners in a secure online environment. The company utilizes proprietary (patent pending) technology and business processes to deliver the first and most widely used business financial network of its type.