HONG KONG, November 10, 2003 - Azeus Systems Limited, a regional IT solutions provider, has been recognised as a Maturity Level 5 company - the highest appraisal level under the Capability Maturity Model Integration for Software Engineering (CMMI-SW), which was conducted by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) through authorised third-party appraisers.

CMMI-SW Level 5 is another major software process capability model accreditation Azeus has earned within just a year following an equivalent Level 5 assessment for software development under the Capability Maturity Model (CMM-SW) in October 2002. By receiving this recognition, Azeus has set the record again by becoming the first and only company in Hong Kong, and one of only less than 30 companies worldwide, to have been appraised at CMMI Level 5.

CMM and CMMI models were developed through convention of the software community with the stewardship of the SEI. The SEI is a research and development centre sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense and operated by Carnegie Mellon University. SEI-Authorized Lead Assessor, Mr. Tumu Satish Kumar of QAI India, led Azeus' appraisal.

Mr. Lee Wan Lik, Azeus Systems Ltd. Managing Director, said he was confident the company would be recognised as a CMMI level 5 since the company alignment its business processes and practices to CMM-based models last year. "All we needed to do was integrate our approaches in carrying out CMM-aligned software development processes and practices to comply with CMMI technical requirements," Mr. Lee said.

Azeus received CMMI Level 5 (Optimizing) by implementing recommended approaches for integrating CMM models in development, enhancement and maintenance projects done for the computer systems of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government. The company has been providing IT solutions to extend and hasten the delivery of public services in the Territory for 13 years now.

Achieving CMMI Level 5 appraisal means that Azeus optimizes improvements through causal analysis & resolution and organizational innovation and deployment. It proves that Azeus is capable of conducting causal analysis and resolution to issues during each project phase to prevent defects from being introduced. Such a practice of preventing defects rather than detecting them during or after development is more cost-efficient and significantly improves productivity and product quality. CMMI Level 5 appraisal also recognises that Azeus empowers its staff to propose improvements to the organization's processes and technologies then submits proposed innovations to cautious pilot testing before deployment.

"Our clients and end-users will gain the most benefits from this accreditation because all these CMMI measures for optimizing improvements to an organisation's internal processes and practices translate to more stable solutions, cost-efficient development and faster delivery of requirements and products. And these qualities are exactly what our clients in the Hong Kong Government require of their systems, which are implemented to be used by the general public", Mr. Lee explained.

Mr Lee also attributes the achievement to Azeus' adherence to client's user requirements in developing systems. "Strict compliance to our client's standards of quality for software development has honed our staff and the organisation as a whole to become a stronger and more determined company in terms of delivering quality solutions on time and within our clients' resource allocations," he continued.

"Aside from the reliable IT systems that we develop and roll out, achieving CMMI Level 5 appraisal is another way to further strengthen the confidence of our clients in our solutions and organisation," Mr. Lee said.

Indeed, the confidence of clients shone for Azeus when the company was awarded one of the largest IT implementation jobs and first outsourcing project of the Hong Kong Government. Estimates for the project's services alone - involving implementation of multiple software systems excluding third-party hardware and software, amounts to over US$10 million. Another vote of confidence was established when the company was categorised under the Hong Kong Government Bulk Contract in 2002. This granted Azeus a standing offer agreement for the provision of IT professional services in implementing large-scale and mission-critical systems development projects under the Hong Kong Government's IT Professional Services Agreement (ITPSA).

For more information about Azeus, please visit http://www.azeus.com.