Human Resources: Practique receives a ‘promising’ rating in MarketScope report on SalesIncentive

Independent analysts, Gartner has produced a global MarketScope report on
the Sales Incentive Compensation Management (ICM) Software market 2006.
Each ICM specialist vendor is given a rating and Practique’s first entry
into this updated report is rated as ‘promising’. *

“Practique is the only European based specialist ICM vendor listed in the
report and we believe, our inclusion demonstrates ICM software is gaining
strong momentum and increased acceptance across Europe” commented Jo Walker,
Managing Director for Practique.

“The fact that Gartner has produced a MarketScope report on Sales Incentive
Compensation Management, in our opinion reflects the increasing interest in
ICM software, which we are witnessing from European organisations. This is
because the business case for investment in specialist ICM software is very
compelling. For example, one of Practique’s clients was able to cut
commission costs by 37 percent and drive up its sales order intake by 22
percent, by implementing INCA, our ICM system.” Concluded Walker.

Specialist ICM software such as Practique's web based solution INCA, is
designed to automate the process of commission, bonus or incentive
administration in support of any type of variable pay strategy giving
greater accuracy to the calculation process and improving sales force
motivation and retention.

Incentive Compensation Management software market activity occurs
disproportionately in North America, which accounts for more than 85 per
cent of the world market, according to Gartner. Customers already using
Practique’s ICM software in Europe, include O2, Royal Bank of Scotland, BT
Group Companies, Cable & Wireless and STA Travel.

The MarketScope evaluation criteria took into account four areas, these are;
overall viability (including financial, strategy and organisation), the
customer experience, the product or service and the market responsiveness
and track record.

ICM software has traditionally been perceived as an enterprise solution and
as such has dissuaded many organisations with a medium sized sales force to
invest. In response to this and alongside its INCA Enterprise offering,
Practique has introduced INCA Professional with a Fast Track delivery model,
for organisations that do not require enterprise level system capability.
Practique has also addressed the budgetary investment challenges with a
subscription model, which removes the need for capital outlay by spreading
the cost over a number of months. Compared with the cost of administering a
spreadsheet or bespoke system, the cost of ICM software is now a very
attractive proposition.

Michael Dunne, author of Gartner’s Sales ICM MarketScope report observes,
“Our outlook for investing in sales ICM software continues to be rated as
‘promising’. The fundamental value propositions underpinning this market
remain compelling and new entrants appeared during the past year.”

About Practique
Practique is a privately held, UK owned company headquartered in Bracknell.
Founded by Jo Walker and Steve Bowe in 1997, Practique is the author and
provider of INCA, the Incentive Compensation Management application. For
companies operating any form of variable pay programme, INCA is a vital
support mechanism, introducing control, accuracy and end-to-end visibility
of partner performance and compensation cost.

The company is a ‘best of breed’ vendor in the burgeoning Incentive
Compensation Management market, which is predicted to be worth $300m
globally, of which the UK market share is expected to be $15million in 2007.

MarketScope Disclaimer

The MarketScope is copyrighted August 2006 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused
with permission. The MarketScope is an evaluation of a marketplace at and
for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner’s analysis of how certain
vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace as defined by Gartner.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the
MarketScope, and does not advise technology users to select only those
vendors with the highest rating. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express
or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of
merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

For more information on the MarketScope for Sales Incentive Compensation
Management, see www.gartner.com ID Number G00140812