IBM and Dassault Systèmes Positioned in Leader Quadrant for Product Lifecycle Management

Leading IT advisory firm evaluates companies based on ability to execute and vision

White Plains, NY, U.S.A., and Paris, France – March 27, 2003 – IBM and Dassault Systèmes (Nasdaq: DASTY; Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA) have been listed in the leader category of the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Magic Quadrant study prepared by Gartner, a leading technology research and advisory firm. The purpose of the ‘Magic Quadrant’ is to graphically portray vendor performance and to position players in the Product Lifecycle Management market. The Gartner report evaluates PLM vendors based on vision and ability to execute.*

The leader category position attributed to IBM and Dassault Systèmes confirms the companies’ PLM strategy, services, and product portfolio launched almost three years ago. This past year, the partners had a number of significant wins in industries in which they prevail, such as automotive and aerospace, and in which they are growing market share, such as electronics, shipbuilding, and consumer goods.

“Those wins have translated into the strongest financial performance of the PLM sector because IBM and Dassault Systèmes provide an unmatched expertise – end-to-end PLM solutions, including implementation, integration services, and consulting” said Ed Petrozelli, general manager, IBM Product Lifecycle Management. “Customers rely on IBM PLM solutions to help them transform into on demand businesses by enabling them to be more responsive, focused, resilient and variable in fiercely competitive marketplaces.”

“We are delighted that Gartner has listed Dassault Systèmes in the leader quadrant in their report that is clearly focused on the PDM portion of PLM,” said Bernard Charlès, president and CEO of Dassault Systèmes. “For our customers, PLM goes far beyond PDM as manufacturing enterprises want to get closer to their customers by leveraging collaborative product creation throughout its lifecycle as a key strategy to increase value.”

The IBM-Dassault Systèmes partnership helps transform companies from traditional businesses into e-businesses by providing the applications, infrastructure, methodologies and services needed to support the entire lifecycle of their products. Known as e-business on demand, the strategic business approach of integrating business processes across the company and with key partners, suppliers and customers enables companies to respond to customer demand in real time, integrate core competencies and business processes, and adjust to market opportunities.

IBM and Dassault Systèmes provide integrated PLM solutions to both large and small companies across all industries, including automotive, aerospace, consumer goods, electronics, and shipbuilding.

# # #

*The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted 2003 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission, which permission should not be deemed to be an endorsement of any company or product depicted in the quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is Gartner, Inc.’s opinion and is an analytical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It measures vendors against Gartner defined criteria for a marketplace. The positioning of vendors within a Magic Quadrant is based on the complex interplay of many factors. Gartner does not advise enterprises to select only those firms in the “Leaders” quadrant. In some situations, firms in the Visionary, Challenger, or Niche Player quadrants may be the right matches for an enterprise's requirements. Well-informed vendor selection decisions should rely on more than a Magic Quadrant. Gartner research is intended to be one of many information sources including other published information and direct analyst interaction. Gartner, Inc. expressly disclaims all warranties, express or implied, of fitness of this research for a particular purpose.