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November 21, 2005

LEVEL FOUR WINS AWARD FOR BEST PRODUCT

Targeting Innovation recognises Level Four’s open standards offering in annual Scottish Software Awards

London, 21 November 2005 - Level Four Software, the leading provider of open standards-based ATM test and development software, today announced it has won the ‘best product/service’ category in the third annual Scottish Software Awards run by Targeting Innovation, in association with Scottish Enterprise and ScotlandIS, the trade body for software, telecoms and IT in Scotland. Level Four won the award for its XFS extension, now known as ATM TrueTest, a key product within ATM Channel Development Suite, launched in response to the ATM industry adoption of open standards.

The judges acknowledged that Level Four identified a need from banks for flexible testing tools to take advantage of open standards and launched a new product set addressing this need. Moreover, ATM TrueTest is a proven technology adopted by some of the world’s largest financial institutions for their open standards-based ATM networks. The judges also recognised that Level Four, an aggressively growing Scottish company, is promoting the adoption of open standards in the global ATM industry.

Martin Macmillan, CEO, Level Four commented on the award: “We are delighted that our open standards solution has been recognised as a leading edge technology in the Scottish software sector. Open standards will play an important part in the future of the ATM channel and we developed ATM TrueTest in direct response to banks’ testing needs as they move to open standards. We are proud that the Scottish Software Award judges have recognised our efforts and commitment to promoting open standards globally.”

Until a recent change in the ATM market that saw a move to open standards, ATM vendors could lock banks into buying their hardware and proprietary software platforms. With the emergence of XFS, an open standard software layer, banks now have the opportunity to use hardware and software from different vendors.

Banks have welcomed this change because it reduces reliance on a single ATM vendor and saves on the maintenance of a multi-vendor network. Banks can now focus on introducing new services at the ATM, an important part of customer retention and acquisition strategy.

With the move to open standards and the introduction of new ATM services, banks need to undertake thorough automated testing of their ATM networks. With Level Four’s ATM TrueTest, banks no longer need to rely on manual testing, which is labour-intensive, costly and time-consuming with the pitfalls of human error. Level Four’s solution provides a simulation of an ATM so its software acts as a ‘virtual ATM’, removing all dependency on physical ATM hardware.

George Boag, chief executive of Targeting Innovation Ltd., said: “The Scottish Software Awards are one of the few opportunities to promote Scottish software to the business and public communities by highlighting the variety and quality of activity across the sector. The awards acknowledge that continued growth of Scotland’s software sector comes from innovative companies like Level Four that produce quality products and services with international potential.”

Level Four was one of five companies to pick up a cash award and trophy at the ceremony at Airth Castle on 6 October 2005.

In April 2005, Level Four won the 2005 Fife Business Award for innovation and creativity from Scottish Enterprise. Level Four won the award for its Bunch Note Acceptor (BNA) and Cheque Processing Module (CPM) solutions, which help banks deliver more sophisticated self-service capabilities at cash machines. The award win automatically qualified Level Four for entry to Scottish Enterprise’s Enterprising Scotland Awards, Scotland’s national business awards. Level Four was runner up in the innovation and creativity category.

Notes to editor:

A photo of Arthur Morrison, CTO of Level Four Software, receiving the award trophy is available upon request.

About Targeting Innovation

Targeting Innovation is a consultancy that provides specialist business development expertise to companies in technology-driven sectors and helps companies introduce innovation into their organisation. Targeting Innovation, formerly known as Services to Software Ltd, has worked with the software industry in Scotland for over 12 years. Targeting Innovation has hosted the Scottish Software Awards since 2003 as a means to promote and encourage the Scottish software industry in developing world class products.

For more information visit www.targetinginnovation.com or call Alison Rowan on 0141 572 1600.