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EXHIBIT 99.1
[ONYX LOGO]
Sep 18, 00
Onyx Software, Softbank Investment and Prime Invest to Create Onyx Japan
Companies Unite to Introduce Pure Web-based Solution to Japanese Market
Tokyo - Onyx Software (Nasdaq: ONXS), Softbank Investment and Prime Systems
Corporation today announced they are investing to create Onyx Japan to bring
Onyx Software's award-winning e-business and relationship management solutions
to the Japanese market. The creation of Onyx Japan was announced at a joint
press conference today in Tokyo led by Onyx Software President and CEO Brent
Frei, Softbank Finance President Yoshitaka Kitao, and President and founder of
Prime, Hitoshi Nagata, and attended by more than 200 journalists and business
partners.
Onyx Japan, which is majority owned and controlled by Onyx Software, was
structured as a Japanese venture in order to have the flexibility to take
advantage of local investments and Japanese stock market opportunities as well
as for business reasons.
"We are creating a Japanese company to serve the Japanese market," said Onyx
Software president and CEO Brent Frei. "Onyx Japan demonstrates our commitment
to provide unparalleled service and solutions to Japanese businesses and
reflects our belief in the potential of this market. The widespread recognition,
local expertise, marketing, technical capabilities and support resources that
Softbank Investment and Prime contribute will position the operation to take
advantage of Japan's rapidly growing customer relationship management and e-
business markets."
"Softbank Investment group's investment in Onyx reflects our confidence in
Internet-centric technology, customer satisfaction focus, and timing of Onyx
solutions in the Japanese market," said Softbank Finance President Yoshitaka
Kitao. "Customer relationship management (CRM) is being discussed in every board
room in Japan today. Onyx provides a compelling Web-based offering that can be
deployed by large businesses or through an Application Service Provider (ASP)
with equal success."
Onyx Software first established a presence in Asia/Pacific with full-service
operations in Singapore and Australia in 1997 and entered Hong Kong and Malaysia
in 1999. Gartner Group projects Asia/Pacific, which includes Japan, to realize
the fastest growth in CRM systems of any region through 2004, in an industry
projected to be $20 billion. Of that, CRM delivered through an ASP model is
expected to be the fastest-growing segment in Japan. According to Nikkei, the
revenue from CRM software application purchases in Japan grew over 140% in 1999.
"Customer relationship management has become one of the most important business
initiatives for Japanese companies within the past 12 months and will continue
to be for the foreseeable future," said Hitoshi Nagata, President and founder of
Prime. "Onyx Software offers a compelling customer centric e-business solution
for Japanese companies consistent with our
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cultural bias toward superior customer service. We will bring our expertise in
large system integration like SAP, front office and back office solutions,
custom Internet software development and enterprise software to Onyx Japan
helping to ensure the venture will be successful in the Japanese market."
Onyx Japan will initially target customers in the financial services, high tech,
telecommunications, manufacturing and services sectors. It will sell and support
Onyx implementations through direct, indirect and hosting/ASP channels. Hitoshi
Nagata of Prime Systems has been named president of Onyx Japan.
"We believe that we have the winning combination of strong Japanese partners,
the right product suite and the commitment to ensure that we become a leader in
the Japanese market," said Howard Hawk, Onyx Software vice president of Asian
operations and chairman of Onyx Japan. "In addition to our strong local Japanese
partners, the establishment of a full-service Japanese office, including sales,
marketing, customer support and R&D, differentiates us from other enterprise
software companies in Japan who have typically entered the market with only a
field sales office. We are very optimistic about establishing Onyx Japan as a
leader in delivering e-business solutions, including offering mobile options
that fit with Japan's leadership position in the wireless technology arena. Our
enthusiasm for our entry into Japan is reinforced by the initial capital
investment of all three parties and planned growth of the Japanese operations."
About Onyx Software Corporation
Onyx Software Corporation (NASDAQ: ONXS) is a global supplier of enterprise-
wide, customer-centric e-business applications. Onyx Software's software
connects and powers a company's entire e-business world, including customer,
partner, sales, marketing, service and call center functions. Onyx's award-
winning products are known for flexibility, reliability and quick deployment,
resulting in high return on investment, low total cost of ownership and
industry-leading customer satisfaction. Onyx supports large, medium and small
companies, including Agile Software, American Express, BroadWing, Cognos,
CommerceOne, Credit Suisse, DBS Bank, Dreyfus, Ericsson, FirstWorld
Communications, International SOS, NTL Group, Singapore Cable Vision and
Telstra. For more information email [email protected] or download our annual report
and 10K at www.onyx.com/annualreport.
About Softbank Investment
The venture capital fund of Softbank Investment is part of Softbank group. The
main company of this group is SOFTBANK (www.softbank.com), which has emerged as
one of the world's leading Internet market forces. Through its ownership
positions in more than 300 Internet companies and its unique Internet management
concept, it is able to create market synergies for its family of companies on a
global scale. In Japan its activities encompass distribution, publishing,
Internet media platforms, a broad range of e-commerce businesses, and joint
ventures with companies including Microsoft, Cisco, Yahoo!, the National
Association of Security Dealers, and many other market leaders. In the U.S.,
SOFTBANK is the largest shareholder in leading Internet companies including
Yahoo!, E*TRADE and ZDNet, in Europe has established Internet joint ventures
with News Corp. and Vivendi, and is helping build Internet companies in Latin
America, Australia, New Zealand, India, China and Korea.
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About Prime
Since its establishment in 1991, Prime Systems Corporation has developed and
provided systems for large enterprise. The fast growing company provides full
services in front and back office implementation, business process consulting,
development, sales and marketing. As of Aug 2000, Prime Group has 600 employees
all over Japan, with the sales of $100 million.
Contact:
Heather Knox Stacy Hendricks
Public Relations Director Public Relations Manager
Onyx Software Onyx Software
(425) 519-9225 (425) 519-9253
Mark Lamb Ken Ogata
Investors +81-3-5606-2705
Onyx Software
(425) 519-4034
Certain statements in this press release, including statements concerning Onyx
Software's plans, intentions and expectations, are "forward-looking statements."
Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management
at the time the statements are made and are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
anticipated in the forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "expect,"
"intend," "anticipate," variations of such words and similar expressions
identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean the
statement is not forward-looking. These statements are not guaranties of future
performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that
are difficult to predict. Factors that could affect Onyx's actual results
include, but are not limited to, "Important Factors That May Affect Our
Business, Our Results of Operations and Our Stock Price" described in our
Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our annual report on form
10K for the year ending December 31, 2000 and our quarterly reports on form 10Q.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon these forward-looking
statements that speak only as to the date of this release. Onyx undertakes no
obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new
information, events or circumstances after the date of this release, or to
reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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