Jones Lang LaSalle to Develop Web Based Management Planning and Control System with Comshare Ann Arbor, Michigan, September 06, 2000 -- Jones Lang LaSalle, the world’s leading real estate services and investment management firm, has selected Comshare® Inc. (Nasdaq: CSRE), the leader in Web-based solutions for management planning and control (MPC), to develop a fully integrated, web-based MPC system for planning, budgeting, reporting and analysis. Running on Microsoft SQL Server 7, the system will leverage existing tools, such as the general ledger, fee forecasting and personnel systems. More than 400 cost center managers around Europe will use the system to review the actual results of their department for a given period (against budget, forecast and last year), update the current year’s forecast, and input next year’s budget. Users will be able to view all relevant financial information using Comshare’s advanced visualization techniques and intuitive topic-driven interface. “During the selection process we evaluated a number of competing products, says Andrew Stoneman, European Finance Director, Jones Lang LaSalle. “When we ranked the products alongside each other, Comshare was the clear winner. Comshare scored highly on its ease of use, intuitive topic-driven Web interface, rich functionality and support for Microsoft SQL Server 7. Furthermore, we were impressed with the team fielded by Comshare, with their willingness to listen and understand our business problems, and with their resolve to deliver a solution that would meet our needs.” “The fact that the system is web based means it can be quickly and easily deployed with minimal development effort,” says Andrew Stoneman. “Furthermore, its intuitive web interface and clear workflow means that the investment required in end-user training, and the total cost of ownership over the life cycle of the product, are minimal.” The business need for the system arose following the merger of Jones Lang Wootton and LaSalle Partners Inc in April 1999. The planning, budgeting, reporting and analysis requirements of the European business grew exponentially due to rapid business growth, the introduction of matrix management across a number of key service lines and the need to communicate regularly with the investor and analyst community. At present most of the European operating companies use paper-based forms to collect and update revenue, personnel costs and other expense items from over 400 cost center managers. This data is fed into spreadsheets and a budget or forecast for the company is produced. Once agreed by local management, the budget is transmitted to the European Finance Department for consolidation. European Finance translate the data into a common currency and compile a consolidated budget or forecast for the Region. “Throughout the process, both the local and European finance departments spend significant amounts of time and effort on the mechanics of collecting and consolidating data, rather than reviewing the data for accuracy and credibility and analyzing the underlying business issues,” says Andrew Stoneman. “We envisage that Comshare will eliminate most of the mechanical processes, allowing the finance team to disseminate actual results to departmental managers on a more timely basis. Comshare will also speed up collection and consolidation of budget and forecast data, enabling the finance team to spend more time on value-added analysis.” “Using Comshare’s advanced analytical capabilities, users will be able to easily track trends, uncover issues and communicate problems and opportunities in either tabular or graphical format, on-screen or in hard copy. Divisional, Country and European management will, subject to security, be able to review consolidated information for the entities under their control, and will be able to drill down through the data by country, business line or individual employee. The system will be designed to even allow casual users to understand immediately what their budget means and how they are performing against it. It will be used in tandem with Jones Lang LaSalle’s global reporting system,” says Andrew Stoneman. About Jones Lang LaSalle Jones Lang LaSalle is the world's leading real estate services and investment management firm, operating across more than 100 markets in 33 countries on five continents. The company provides comprehensive integrated expertise, including property and corporate facility management, transaction services and investment management services on a local, regional and global level to owners, occupiers and investors. LaSalle Investment Management, the company's investment management business, is one of the world's largest and most diverse real estate investment management firms, with $21.5 billion (£13.5 billion) of assets under management. Jones Lang LaSalle is also the industry leader in property and corporate facility management services, with a portfolio of approximately 700-million square feet (65-million square meters) under management worldwide. For further information see Jones Lang LaSalle’s web sites at www.joneslanglasalle.com or www.europe.joneslanglasalle.com. About Comshare Comshare® Inc. is the leading provider of e-business software applications for management planning and control (MPC), which comprises planning, budgeting, financial consolidation, management reporting and analysis. Comshare’s MPC applications deliver business-critical information over the Web that can be used to make sound planning and management decisions. In business for nearly 35 years, Comshare is one of the top independent software companies, with customers around the world, many of which are Fortune 500 and Financial Times Top 1000 companies. Comshare is a Microsoft Data Warehousing Alliance Partner, an IBM Business Partner, an Oracle Business Alliance Partner, and an Hyperion Alliance Partner. For more information on Comshare, call 1-800-922-7979, send e-mail to info@comshare.com or visit Comshare’s Web site at www.comshare.com. CONTACTS: Comshare: Louise Wells Manager, PR & Marketing +44 (0)20 7349 6000 Lwells@comshare.com Pete Smudde Director, Corporate Communications 734-769-8742 psmudde@comshare.com Jones Lang LaSalle: Andrew Stoneman European Finance Director Mobile: +44 7930 520993 Allyson Andrew PR Manager Mobile: +44 7887 633832 Tel: +44 20 7399 Comshare® is a registered trademark of Comshare Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.