Chinese Enterprise Software Leader Kingdee will Provide Localized Access to The Open Group's Membership Products and TOGAF(TM) Services throughout China

SAN FRANCISCO, May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The Open Group, a vendor- and technology-neutral consortium focused on open standards and global interoperability within and between enterprises, today announced that it has signed a Franchise Agreement with Kingdee, a leading provider of enterprise management software and e-Business applications solutions in China and the Asia-Pac region, to represent the organization in China. Today's announcement marks The Open Group's fourth international franchise partnership, with other franchisees located in France, Japan, and South Africa.

As the main representative of The Open Group in China, Kingdee will use its substantial reach in greater China to provide localized access to information, resources and certifications provided by The Open Group to the IT and enterprise architecture communities throughout the region. Kingdee will work on behalf of The Open Group in China to facilitate local initiatives and events for IT professionals, including administering a Chinese-language version of The Open Group's architecture framework, TOGAF(TM), and providing professional certification programs in Chinese. In addition, Kingdee will leverage its existing sales channel to help recruit and enroll new member organizations for The Open Group throughout China and the Asia-Pac region.

"Kingdee is very excited about our partnership with The Open Group, and we are very determined to help bring the organization's mission of Boundaryless Information Flow(TM) to companies and IT professionals throughout China," said Robert Xu, Chairman and Chief Architect, Kingdee Software. "In our rapidly expanding economy, Chinese companies have a need to build strong and secure infrastructures that will ensure future growth. Enterprise architecture, SOA Reference Architecture and architecture frameworks such as those developed by The Open Group will be an important part of our future. We very much look forward to being The Open Group's representative in China and helping our new member companies achieve global interoperability."

"China represents a monumental opportunity for The Open Group in its mission to help achieve better alignment between business and IT and to promote open standards for interoperability across the globe," said Allen Brown, president and CEO for The Open Group. "Companies worldwide are increasingly looking to global standards to help them address these issues as they continue their rapid growth. As China's largest ERP software developer, Kingdee is a natural choice to represent The Open Group throughout the country."

As part of the Franchise Agreement, The Open Group China will hold a launch conference in Beijing on May 19 to introduce The Open Group to the region. The conference will address topics related to enterprise architecture, including architecture frameworks such as TOGAF, service oriented architectures (SOA), cloud computing and certification programs for enterprise architects. For more information on the conference, please visit the English language site at: http://www.opengroup.org/beijing2009/index.htm. For the Chinese language site, please visit: http://www.kingdee.com/news/subject/09togaf/jiabin.htm.

The conference will be hosted by Allen Brown and Liang Zeng, Managing Director of The Open Group China. Featured speakers for the event include: Robert Xu, Chief Architect and Chairman, Kingdee; Ni Guang Nan, Fellow, Chinese Academy of Engineering; Dr. Bob Chu, CIO, The Open Group, China; Xiang Lee, Vice President, R&D, BOS, Kingdee; Andy Mulholland, Global CTO, Capgemini; Judith Jones, CEO, Architecting the Enterprise; Ken Pepple, Sun Principal Engineer, Chief Technologist, Asia Pacific Systems Engineering, Sun Micro; Colin Pan, GCG ITA Leader, IBM; Patricia Donovan, Vice President, Membership & Events, The Open Group; Dr. Shuichiro Yamamoto, Senior Executive Manager of the Research Institute, NTT Data and Dr. JC Feng, President, Shenzhen Kingdee Middleware.

About Kingdee

Kingdee International Software Group Company Limited (www.kingdee.com) is a listed company on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (Stock Code: 00268). It is a leader in the China software industry, a distinguished enterprise management software and middleware provider in Asia-Pacific region and a world renowned online management and e-business application solution service provider. Its mission is to lead advancement of management model of enterprises, encourage e-business and enable customers' success. Currently, Kingdee provides management consultation and informatization services to over 600,000 enterprises, government departments and organizations around the world. Headquartered in Shenzhen, China, Kingdee International Software Group Company Limited was founded in 8 August 1993. The affiliates of the Group include Kingdee Software (China) Company Ltd., which focuses on management software market in Mainland China; Kingdee Mobile Internet Technology Co., Ltd, which aims to provide online management and e-business service(www.youshang.com); Kingdee International Software Group Company (H.K.) Ltd., which targets the market of Asia-Pacific region besides mainland China and overseas market; Shenzhen Kingdee Middleware Company Ltd (www.apusic.com)., which is specialized in middleware business etc.

Kingdee's sales network spans across four regions, namely Southern, Eastern, Northern and Western China, covering a total of 221 cities and districts. The Group serves more than 600,000 customers around the world, including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, etc.

About The Open Group

The Open Group is a vendor-neutral and technology-neutral consortium, which drives the creation of Boundaryless Information Flow(TM) that will enable access to integrated information within and between enterprises based on open standards and global interoperability. The Open Group works with customers, suppliers, consortia and other standard bodies. Its role is to capture, understand and address current and emerging requirements, establish policies and share best practices; to facilitate interoperability, develop consensus, and evolve and integrate specifications and open source technologies; to offer a comprehensive set of services to enhance the operational efficiency of consortia; and to operate the industry's premier certification service. Further information on The Open Group can be found at http://www.opengroup.org.

Note to Editors: Boundaryless Information Flow and TOGAF are trademarks of The Open Group. All other company, brand and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

SOURCE The Open Group