Avanquest Opens R&D Subsidiary in Montreal, Canada

Avanquest Software (AVQ), a developer and publisher of consumer software and business solutions headquartered in Paris, France with U.S. operations in California and Colorado, announced today the opening of a new Research and Development Center subsidiary located here, to support the company’s existing R&D teams in France, the United States and China.

Canada was chosen as the ideal place for this new Avanquest facility because it is at the cultural, linguistic and geographic crossroads of Europe and the United States. Montréal is a real breeding ground for ideas and innovation from young computer specialists on the cutting edge of new- generation technologies, especially in multimedia and on the Web.

"The opening of this subsidiary illustrates the proactive strategy of our Group as well as our confidence in the future," said Bruno Vanryb, President & CEO and co-founder of Avanquest Software. "In the context of the global financial crisis, it is imperative to chart a course that adopts both a careful defensive strategy with strict control of expenses, allied to a forward-looking offensive that maintains an investment in the areas which will assure growth and profitability of the company. Our new R&D center will be in charge of several projects that constitute the cornerstone of the Group’s 2008-2009 strategy." In keeping with the philosophy that makes Avanquest successful, namely the delivery of consistent innovation in software design, functionality and value, the three R&D teams that are being set up in Montréal will contribute to the following key missions:

• Design highly innovative software components that will be integrated by other engineering groups in new generation software, within the fast-growing categories of mobility, networking, utilities and security; as always, the final objective is to bring more innovative and effective software solutions to companies worldwide.
• Develop web code and content based on cutting-edge technologies such as Flex or Silverlight, to support and increase online sales in synergy with the other distribution channels.
• Implement the highly innovative online "Community Project" to both strengthen Avanquest’s relationship with its customers and offer a brand new range of high value-added services to software companies and start-ups.

"Our Group is international and multicultural in scope," explained Roger Politis, co-founder of Avanquest Software and Managing Director in charge of the Group’s Research & Development. "For more than twenty years, Bruno Vanryb and I have focused our priorities on innovation. The objective was to expand our software development capacities on a continent and in a country that is economically competitive and geographically close to our main economic centres in Europe and the United States. Montréal International, an organization dedicated to the economic promotion and development of Greater Montréal, supported us in this project and showed us the benefit of a facility in Québec’s largest city with a large, highly skilled bilingual population, strong cultural ties with the United States and France, and competitive wages which were all key determining factors in making our decision."

The Group’s objective is to reach a workforce in Montréal of about 100 engineers within three years, with the recruitment of 15 employees by the end of this year, 50 by the end of 2009, and 100 by the end of the third year. Carl de Billy, who joined Avanquest Software in September, will be in charge of the new R&D center