Press Release
April 13, 2000
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Paul Sylvester, President and CEO, Manatron, Inc.
(616) 567-2900 (paul.sylvester@manatron.com)
or
Nick Thole, Steve Poole (800) 435-9539
Seyferth & Associates, Inc.(SeyferthPR@aol.com)
Manatron's New GovernMax Division Strikes First
E-Commerce Contract with Kentucky's Jefferson County Property Valuation
Administrator
KALAMAZOO, Michigan, April 13, 2000 -- Manatron, Inc. (NASDAQ:MANA),
a business-to-local government (B-to-G) supplier of web-based and
client/server application software products, today introduced its
GovernMax division, which has been formed to focus solely on the
strategic growth of Manatron's Internet business with local government.
Manatron also announced today that GovernMax has signed its first
e-commerce contract with Denise Harper Angel, Property Valuation
Administrator (PVA) for Jefferson County, Kentucky (Louisville).
As Manatron's Internet division, GovernMax is responsible for the
further development and marketing of Manatron's suite of Web Connect
products -- MVP Connect, Court Connect and MIRRS Connect. These
systems layer over existing government software to provide an Intranet
and Internet interface to public information, creating a "Virtual
Courthouse" for information via the World Wide Web. GovernMax
is led by Managing Director Robert Fry, an industry veteran who
has served as Manatron's Regional Vice President-Ohio for the past
four years.
Under the e-commerce agreement with Jefferson County's Property
Valuation Administrator, Manatron's GovernMax division will partner
with the PVA to provide property appraisal and other information
on the county's approximately 290,000 parcels of residential, commercial,
agricultural, industrial and other properties. The MVP Connect site
will be hosted by GovernMax, and banks, title companies, real estate
agencies and other firms will subscribe for a monthly fee to access
the database of property information. Like most Internet retail
or subscription news sites, the e-commerce version of MVP Connect
sites has the capability to process credit card payments.
"We are very pleased to be partnering with the Jefferson County
PVA on our first e-commerce MVP Connect site and expect to have
the site up and running by early May. By partnering with more and
more counties and agencies, our goal is to provide a national database
of property tax and appraisal information. Currently, information
on approximately 2.5 million parcels of property is available through
MVP Connect sites," said Paul Sylvester, Manatron's President
and Chief Executive Officer.
Denise Harper Angel stated, "The ability to access this sort
of information in a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week, easy-to-use format that
MVP Connect offers a great advantage to private enterprises. This
information is needed everyday and often requires a trip to the
courthouse or a faxed request in order to obtain the data. Placing
all of this information conveniently on the Internet, in effect,
creates a ÔVirtual Courthouse.'"
"GovernMax allows government agencies to effectively satiate
the demand for public information that has long been present in
the business community," said Early Stephens, Manatron's Chief
Technology Officer "Our Internet products enable the delivery
of information in the correct format, when and where it is needed.
In addition, the built-in flexibility will allow us to meet the
changing needs of GovernMax subscribers very quickly, in ÔNet time.'"
Robert Fry stated, "Between our more than 25 installations
of MVP Connect and Court Connect and our Jefferson County PVA beta
site for MVP Connect's e-commerce version, we are generating momentum
as the Internet portal for local government. We are building upon
Manatron's reputation and knowledge of local government and are
positioned to take advantage of the growing demand for e-government
solutions. This market is virtually untapped, and as one of the
first B-to-G companies with tried-and-true Internet solutions and
our ability to work with any back-office software, we hope to capture
significant market share in the coming years. GovernMax is already
in the process of ramping up our marketing efforts nationwide."
Paul Sylvester concluded, "The e-commerce version of MVP Connect
offers new revenue potential for Manatron, as we will earn recurring
revenue from user subscriptions and eventually advertising in addition
to the current revenue from installation, web site hosting and software
license fees. Priority number one, however, is ensuring that the
Jefferson County PVA site is up and running properly as working
proof of Manatron and GovernMax's e-commerce capabilities."
Manatron, Inc. designs, develops, markets and supports a family
of web-based and client/server application software products for
county, city and township government. Manatron's products support
back-office processes for government agencies as well as "Virtual
Courthouse" needs providing Internet access to information
for industry professionals and the public. Through its Sabre Appraisal
division, Manatron provides mass appraisal services, assessing residential,
commercial and other types of properties to ensure updated and equitable
property valuations. Manatron currently serves approximately 1,700
customers in more than 30 states and three Canadian provinces. Information
about Manatron, Inc. is available at the Company's site on the World
Wide Web at http://www.manatron.com.
Safe Harbor Statement: The information provided in this
news release may include forward-looking statements relating to
future events, such as the development of new products, the commencement
of production, or the future financial performance of the Company.
Actual results may differ from such projections and are subject
to certain risks including, without limitation, risks arising from:
changes in the rate of growth of the local government appraisal
industry, increased competition in the industry, delays in developing
and commercializing new products, adequacy of financing and other
factors described in the Company's most recent annual report on
Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which
can be reviewed at
http://www.sec.gov .
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