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HMS Software Celebrates 20th Anniversary

Leading provider of enteprise project and timesheet systems continues to expand.

Montreal, January 12, 2004 - HMS Software, a leading provider of project management and timesheet systems, announces that it is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The Montreal-based company continues to specialize in project-oriented products and services and has expanded operations this year.

"We're delighted about the milestone," said Chris Vandersluis, president and founder of HMS. "20 years ago when we got started as a small 2-person consulting firm, we never dreamed we'd be where we are today. The company continues to thrive and has even expanded operations this year, something that's not too common in the IT sector."

HMS has been a landmark in the Canadian project management sector since its inception in 1984. Starting as a consulting and distribution firm, HMS was involved in many of Canada's major capital projects throughout the eighties including the Hibernia offshore oil platform, the Northern James Bay Hydro development, the Ontario Nuclear upgrade project, the InterProvincial Pipeline as well as numerous defense and aerospace projects such as Canada's new Frigate program, the CF-18 upgrade, the Low-level air defense and the Light Armoured Vehicle.

With the 1994 commercial release of TimeControl, an enterprise timesheet system, HMS found itself thrust into the international marketplace. "The popularity of TimeControl took us by surprise," says Vandersluis. "We knew it was a good product but the speed at which TimeControl sales grew was startling. It was like opening a lemonade stand in the desert - suddenly everyone wanted to talk to us."

TimeControl's architecture makes it particularly useful for project-oriented organizations. It allows companies to use the timesheet data to simultaneously link both project management and financial systems, something that was a first in the timesheet marketplace. HMS's strong background in project management and its depth in working at the enterprise level, is a combination that is a powerful stimulant for the organization.

"We've been very fortunate to have had TimeControl accepted by some of the largest organizations in the world," says Vandersluis. "The system has been in continuous use for 10 years now at Bombardier Defense (Now L3-Communications). We've also made major deployments at Mercury Marine, Kelly Services, Organon, Stolt Offshore and the Credit Suisse/First Boston Bank.

"In what is a difficult time for the entire IT sector, we've been able to carve out a niche for ourselves and to make it profitable. This year we've even expanded our team with additional development and consulting personnel."

In addition to the success of TimeControl, HMS also includes a thriving consulting practice specializing in the implementation of enterprise project systems. "Implementing project management systems is what we've been doing for 20 years," says Vandersluis.

HMS's consulting services include implementation assistance for Microsoft Office Project. HMS has been a Microsoft Project Solution Provider since 1995. "We're quite involved with the Microsoft Project team," explains Vandersluis. "We work on joint projects with Microsoft in the Montreal and Toronto offices. Our technical staff work directly with the Microsoft development team in Redmond on the integration of TimeControl with Microsoft Project and Project Server. Our staff regularly attend Microsoft technical events to keep our products and services up to date with the latest information on Project and I am even on the Partner Advisory Council (a small selected group of partners that work with Microsoft headquarters personnel on upcoming versions of Project) as the Canadian representative."

When asked about the future, Vandersluis seems confident. "After 20 years, you know you can survive both the boom times and the tough times," he says. "Both the services and the product side of our business are going strong and I don't see any reason for us not to be here for another 20 years."

About TimeControl

TimeControl was originally released in 1994. It was immediately successful in the project management sector and today is recognized not only as a project management solution, but also as an enterprise timesheet solution in use by companies worldwide. TimeControl is designed as a multipurpose timesheet able to serve the needs of both Finance and Project Management simultaneously. It includes features such as a multi-browser, multi-device interface, a PC and mobile interface, vacation approvals, executive dashboards, extensive approval functionality, flexible reporting and links to project management and corporate systems which makes the timesheet product ideally suited for integration with existing systems in any organization. TimeControl's flexibility allows it to be deployed for use as a time and attendance, time and billing, project tracking and flex-time system. TimeControl is available both for purchase for an on-premises installation or as an on-line subscription in the Cloud.

To access the free Hosted TimeControl Trial site, visit our free trial page.

For more information about TimeControl, monitor the TimeControl blog at http://blog.timecontrol.org/ or the TimeControl website at www.timecontrol.com.

For information about TimeControlOnline, our hosted timesheet subscription service in the cloud, go to www.timecontrol.com/features/timecontrol-online.

For any other questions, please contact HMS Software at info@hms.ca.

TimeControl is represented around the world by our distributors in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Finland, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, the UK, and the U.S.

About HMS Software

Based in Montreal, Canada with offices in Toronto, HMS Software has been a leading provider of project management and enterprise timesheet systems and services since 1984. HMS Software's first customized timesheet application was written in 1984. With the launch of TimeControl as a commercial application in 1994, HMS Software began servicing clients worldwide.

HMS Software's client list reads like a who's who of business. It includes Acergy, Aecon, Rio Tinto, the Atlanta Airport, the City of Montreal, the County of San Mateo, Electromotive Diesel, EXFO, FT Services, Kelly Services, Koch, Merck Frosst, the Government of Quebec, Georgia Pacific, Parker Hannifin, Rolls Royce, Sobeys, Volvo Novabus, Zimmer Inc. and hundreds of others.

For further information about HMS Software, please visit the HMS website at: www.hms.ca or contact us at info@hms.ca.