SCO Customers Move to SCO OpenServer 6


Summit Software, Central Ohio Co-op, and Many Others Gain From Move to OpenServer 6

LINDON, Utah, Oct. 16 // -- Since 1983 Summit Software, Inc. has developed integrated accounting and inventory management software to meet the unique needs of grain, agri-business, cooperative, biofuel, wholesale and retail businesses across the U.S. Summit has also been a SCO Premier Vertical Solutions Provider and customer for more than 20 years.

"We've used SCO products over the years because of the investment protection they provide," said Bruce Ringrose, CEO, Summit Software. "We have been able to upgrade our servers to newer versions of OpenServer with very little work because each version of OpenServer is backward compatible."

Summit Software recently upgraded to OpenServer 6. Summit's technical support manager, Dick Young, was an early beta tester of the product. Young was very satisfied with the quality of the beta, and when the final version of OpenServer 6 was made available, Summit began using it almost immediately.

"When we began testing OpenServer 6 we were amazed by the new improvements including increased disk space, network capabilities, and the multi-user performance improvements," said Young. "The dramatic improvements made in OpenServer 6 including additional users, multi-processors, the UnixWare kernel, boot time linking, more hardware support, and better network performance, create a great incentive to use OpenServer 6. Upgrading to OpenServer 6 was a very easy decision for us."

The increased reliability, ease of management and set up in OpenServer 6 has enabled Summit to maximize their IT staff's efficiency. Summit is able to remotely manage more than 350 servers in 30 states running critical business applications with only three technicians. This has not only saved Summit Software money, but it also saves money for customers who use OpenServer 6.

Further, because of the reliability of OpenServer 6, Summit and its customers only need to upgrade their systems about every five years. Summit has found that other operating systems have shorter upgrade cycles, causing customers to unnecessarily spend more money on hardware and software.

"Although we may give up short term revenue on hardware upgrades, we have more strategically satisfied customers whose core business is sustained, and they refer new business to us," said Ringrose. "This referral process is what allows Summit to grow. We look out for our customers' best interests by providing reliable operating systems and software, and that saves them time and money."

One Summit customer, Glenn Richards, Chief Financial Officer, Central Ohio Co-Op said, "We have stayed with SCO UNIX because it has always been reliable. With SCO OpenServer 6 and Summit's AG software we haven't had any problems. We are very happy with our solution; every one of our 19 locations has been able to use the system without fail."

Currently, 95 percent of Summit's multi-user customers run on SCO. "SCO is compelling for customers," said Ringrose. "I've been supporting server-based business applications for more than 30 years, and I have learned that when installing mission critical business applications it is important to go with what works. Business managers want results, and the cost benefit of most business applications is measured in an increase in labor productivity. We have seen an increase in labor productivity in our own company and in many others, and are very pleased with SCO."

About SCO

The SCO Group (NASDAQ:SCOX) is a leading provider of UNIX software technology and mobile services, offering SCO OpenServer for small to medium business, UnixWare for enterprise applications, and Me Inc. for mobile services. SCO's highly innovative and reliable solutions help millions of customers grow their businesses everyday, from SCO OpenServer on main street to UnixWare on Wall Street, and beyond. SCO owns the core UNIX operating system, originally developed by AT&T/Bell Labs and is the exclusive licensor to UNIX-based system software providers.

Headquartered in Lindon, Utah, SCO has a worldwide network of thousands of resellers and developers. SCO Global Services provides reliable localized support and services to partners and customers. For more information on SCO products and services, visit www.sco.com.

SCO, SCO OpenServer and the associated SCO logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks of The SCO Group, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. UNIX and UnixWare are registered trademarks of The Open Group.

Source: The SCO Group

CONTACT: Blake Stowell of The SCO Group, +1-801-932-5703, bstowell@sco.com

Web site: www.sco.com/

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