Media Contacts:

Diane Brundage, SVP Marketing & Volume Operations
SSPA
(408) 354-7136
dbrundage@thesspa.com

Jennifer Mitchell
McQUERTER
(858) 450-0030
jmitchell@mcquerter.com

Meghan Laska
Wharton Communications
215-573-0757
mlaska@wharton.upenn.edu

Wharton School Partners with Service & Support Professionals Association to Drive Thought Leadership and Management Development in
Technology Services

Prestigious academic institution and top technology industry association to deliver management education and certification

SAN DIEGO, October 10, 2005 – Continuing its commitment to partnering with world-class business organizations, the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) today announced it has joined with The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania to offer a new management education and certification program beginning in the first quarter of 2006. The new joint program will result in SSPA management certification. This program is expected to be the first in a series of offerings designed to create and communicate forward thinking business practices and management techniques in the high growth area of technology services.

Wharton is recognized around the world for its academic strengths across multiple industries and business disciplines . Wharton is also uniquely qualified to serve the technology services industry through the real world IT industry experience of its faculty. SSPA is recognized as the leading professional association for the technology service and support industry. Today’s announcement marks another milestone for SSPA following its launch of the industry’s first certification program with well known customer satisfaction experts J.D. Power & Associates earlier this year.

“We are delighted to be at the forefront of such a unique educational opportunity with the SSPA.  As the services and support component of the technology industry continues to grow, we anticipate that this management development program and collaborative relationship will help SSPA members drive and shape the industry,” said Peter Degnan, Executive Director of Wharton Executive Education.

According to the SSPA, services are becoming the largest single business in the technology industry. Yet the technology service and support industry is facing dramatic and high-stakes change in the next five years. Both SSPA and Wharton believe that executive management at technology companies and the business models they adopt must shape the future, not be shaped by it.

“There will be more change in the technology services business model over the next five years than there have been in the last forty. Billions of dollars in corporate earnings and market capitalization are dependent on a company’s ability to navigate and benefit from this changing landscape. Through SSPA’s partnership with Wharton, top executives and managers in technology services will be able to collaborate and learn from some of the top business minds in the academic world. Together we can help leading technology companies with the insight and tools they need to chart their course,” said J.B. Wood, CEO, SSPA.

Wharton and SSPA will lead strategic thought through research, executive forums/discussions and publishing, creating top-caliber education and certification programs that help member company executives and managers put this thought leadership to practical use. In addition to executive and management education, the program will feature executive roundtables and other events.

Wharton boasts faculty with hands-on experience in IT services and is supported by campuses in technology centers Philadelphia and San Francisco. First classes in the SSPA program are slated for March 2006 at Wharton West in San Francisco. The association will conduct an industry call for input on curriculum development and content. Current CSM certified managers will be invited to participate in the program. Pre-registrations for limited enrollments will be accepted beginning in November, and information will soon be available at www.thesspa.com.

About the SSPA
The Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) is chartered with bringing together the service and support community’s best and brightest minds to deliver a relevant blend of market research, programs and certifications including prestigious J.D. Power & Associates Certified Technology Service & Support, as well as networking, media and analyst relations, education and other information resources. SSPA core constituents include the world’s leading enterprise and consumer technology companies as well as the scores of innovative small and mid-sized companies that serve to continually refresh the industry by bringing new ideas and processes to the marketplace. For more information, visit www.thesspa.com.

About The Wharton School
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is recognized around the world for its academic strengths across every major discipline and at every level of business education. Founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school in the nation, Wharton has approximately 4,600 undergraduate, MBA, Executive MBA, and doctoral students, more than 8,000 participants in its executive education programs annually, and an alumni network of more than 80,000 worldwide.