Vertex® Delivers with Innovative Approach to Annual Customer Conference: Financial News

Vertex® Delivers with Innovative Approach to Annual Customer Conference
Friday November 6, 10:45 am ET

Vertex Exchange™ Goes Virtual for 2009, Responding to Customer Requirements for Rich, Hands-On Training and Networking Through a Web-Based Environment

BERWYN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vertex Inc., the leading provider of corporate enterprise tax solutions, recently held Vertex Exchange – their annual customer conference – in a much different venue by delivering the conference completely online.

In direct response to customer feedback, which indicated a significant decrease in travel budgets as a result of the current economy, Vertex made the decision to move Exchange from an on-site conference event to an online environment.

“By providing the Vertex Exchange experience in a virtual environment, we were able to provide the same invaluable training and networking to even more customers at a significantly lower price,” said Michele McEvoy, Conference Program Manager. “The response from conference attendees has been overwhelmingly positive.”

Attendees experienced a conference environment that enabled them to attend 75 hands-on pre and post-conference training sessions, in addition to their choice of 40 Live and 14 on-demand online sessions covering both Direct and Indirect lines of tax. They could also network with their peers through chat and message boards, and visit virtual partner booths. In addition, attendees had complete access to all show collateral within a virtual library.

The conference took place from October 27-30, but conference attendees will have access to the main conference sessions through the conference portal until the end of 2009.

"The technology utilized at Vertex Exchange was amazing,” stated Vertex Indirect Tax customer Andrew Meyers, Unisys Worldwide Tax Services, Unisys Corporation. “The virtual environment is just as good if not better than a live conference because I could participate in the sessions on my own computer from my own office. This allows me to take advantage of attending Vertex Exchange and still take care of important work matters with an added bonus of incurring no travel costs in a cost-sensitive business environment."

Vertex Direct Tax customer, Betty Hanlon – Corporate Tax Manager, Quanex Building Products – found the conference to be exactly what she needed stating, “Vertex is extremely responsive to their customer needs and understanding the travel restrictions that we are all facing this year put together a virtual conference that really worked. While I missed the face-to-face networking that the live event conference provides, having the ability to chat with colleagues, access real-time conference sessions, interact with Vertex professionals and review discussions from sessions I was not able to attend all while tending to work matters when necessary made this a successful experience for me.”

In addition to the general conference sessions, Vertex Exchange also included an online keynote presentation with Vertex President and CEO, Jeff Westphal. He provided insight on the current state of Vertex and the future of the tax industry, as he highlighted Tax 2.0, an industry initiative that brings tax industry leaders together to plot a course for industry progression.

Westphal also announced the winners of Vertex’s 2009 Corporate Tax Innovation Award. The program recognizes innovative ways to employ best practices using Vertex solutions. This year’s winners – Nordstrom Inc., Elekta, HCA Inc., and Weatherford – were honored for their outstanding solutions to tax management process issues using Vertex products and services.

Vertex Exchange 2010 is currently slated as an on-site conference event and will also be augmented with this successful, interactive online format.

Additional feedback from Vertex Exchange 2009 attendees include:

Trish Pitts, Senior Tax Analyst, Alcon Laboratories Inc. – “I'm glad that Vertex decided to present Exchange 2009 as an online offering. Great idea!”

LeAnn Weir, Senior Tax Accountant, Life Care Centers of America – “The hands-on training is very beneficial. Everything is so flexible! I'm able to attend sessions, explore the virtual booths, and get some work done at my desk.”

ABOUT VERTEX INC.

With more than 30 years of experience, Vertex Inc. is the leading provider of corporate enterprise tax solutions and process management services worldwide.

Vertex solutions help companies streamline and integrate tax provision and compliance processes, and leverage information to discover new strategic tax savings across every major line of business tax, including income, sales, consumer use, value added, communications, and payroll. To serve its customers, Vertex works in partnership with the world’s leading providers of ERP software and related services.

Founded in 1978, Vertex is a privately held company that employs more than 600 professionals at its headquarters in the U.S. (Berwyn, PA) and its offices in Europe (London), Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix, San Francisco, Sarasota, and Washington, DC.

For more information about Vertex, visit www.vertexinc.com.