SMA AND HARVEST SOLUTIONS FORM NORTHEAST STRATEGIC ALLIANCE
 Leading Help Desk and CRM Solutions Providers Work Together to Expand Offerings at Training Super Center

White Plains, New York – February 19, 2002 - SMA Management Systems, a New York and Massachusetts-based technology firm specializing in help desk solutions, and Harvest Solutions, a Massachusetts-based firm known for its customer relationship management (CRM), business analytics and training, have announced a joint venture to bring technology training to a new level.   

The curriculum of courses, hosted at the Harvest Solutions Learning Center, will address the needs of help desk and CRM information technology professionals, from the front-line technician to the IT department administrator.  The hands-on software training and industry-related management courses are designed to enhance productivity, customer relationships and support functions.  

“We are very excited about the new relationship between SMA and Harvest Solutions.  Our complementary backgrounds and industry expertise will bring value to organizations that enroll in our training sessions,” says Steve Dreyer, President of SMA.  “SMA contributes over 18 years of experience in help desk consulting and software implementation and Harvest Solutions is highly respected for its CRM and training expertise.”  

The development of a training center focused on Help Desk and CRM reflects the growing demand for instruction in these areas.  “Until now, regional availability of these types of courses has been extremely limited,” reports Harvest Solutions’ President Sid Lejfer.  “Yet a solid and successful CRM or help desk solution is based on comprehensive and well-planned training.”  

Courses will be offered in both New York and Boston metro locations.  “Our aim is to conveniently serve customers in the entire Northeast corridor with essentially a university for CRM and help desk training,” adds Dreyer.  The roster of software training classes is geared towards companies using mid-market software products such as HEAT, SalesLogix, Crystal Reports, ACT!, and GoldMine.  Management courses will include “CRM Strategies” and “Implementing Effective Service Level Agreements.”  A complete schedule of classes can be found at www.harvestsolutions.net.  

The new alliance is part of a growth strategy for both companies.  The training initiative paves the way for SMA to develop and service more clients in the New England area.  SMA has recently opened up a Boston area office in support of that.  Similarly, Harvest Solutions is poised to develop a greater number of clients in the New York metro area.  

SMA and Harvest Solutions are also well matched in terms of their marketing objectives. They both target mid-sized companies who require a mid-market software product to increase efficiencies.  Most importantly, they share the goal of creating relationships with companies, providing them with excellent service, and making them life-long customers.

About SMA
Since 1984, SMA Management Systems has provided help desk and support center solutions to Fortune 1000 corporations, small and medium-size businesses, educational institutions, government and not-for-profit organizations.  SMA consultants apply their hands-on experience in building, evaluating, and managing help desk operations.  Today, SMA is one of the leading HEAT solution providers in the U.S.  SMA consultants are certified business partners for GoldMine, HEAT, Knowlix, and Control-F1.  SMA has offices in White Plains, New York and Marlborough, Massachusetts.  

SMA’s focus is to enhance business processes and productivity with best-in-class software products and implementation services.  Recent clients include the Amerada Hess, AIWA, March of Dimes, Sunoco, and University of Massachusetts.  

Industry publications, including Beyond Computing, CIO/Webmaster and Public Relations Tactics have published articles written by SMA consultants.  Through invitation, SMA staff have presented programs to help desk user groups in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.  SMA has also been recognized by the Gartner Group for its technology consulting, staffing and organizational methodologies.  More information on SMA is available at www.smasystems.com.

About Harvest Solutions  
Harvest Solutions is a Customer Relationship Management and Business Analytics consulting and training firm specializing in small to medium size businesses.  Harvest Solutions provides a variety of services including needs assessment, planning, customization, implementation, data integration, training and support.  

Harvest Solutions’ staff has over 50 years of cumulative experience in the CRM industry.  The firm is committed to a planned approach to CRM technical projects.  The Harvest Solutions Methodology has been developed by combining industry standard practices with years of technical knowledge and customer relationship management experience. They are certified business partners of ACT! and SalesLogix.  They also provide GoldMine consulting and are a solutions provider of Seagate Crystal Reports.  Corporate headquarters are located in Waltham, Massachusetts. More information at Harvest Solutions may be found at www.harvestsolutions.net.