Optimizing Supply Chain Operations and Efficiency

McLEAN, Va., (September 10, 2002) –

MicroStrategy® Incorporated (NASDAQ: MSTR), a leading worldwide provider of business intelligence software, today announced that its customer La Rinascente is using the MicroStrategy Business Intelligence Platform(TM) to perform sales and inventory analyses and optimize supply chain operations to enhance productivity. Milan-based La Rinascente is a leading department store chain with store locations across Italy.

“The MicroStrategy platform meets the needs of our complex retail environment with superior flexibility and ease-of-use,” said Alfredo Barbieri, manager of information systems at La Rinascente. “Our MicroStrategy-based system is truly innovative and has completely changed the way we leverage our data, allowing us to realize improvements in productivity and efficiency.”

With MicroStrategy technology, La Rinascente end users are able to track what has been sold and when to make timely business decisions. Buyers and sales managers, for instance, are able to easily analyze data in an online, secure environment and more effectively manage the shipment and delivery of products between La Rinascente’s suppliers and its store locations. La Rinascente is also distributing critical insight to its suppliers, thereby strengthening business performance and supplier relationships. End users, as a result, are optimizing efficiency by controlling inventory levels and analyzing detailed sales and discount information.

“The feedback from our end users has been very positive,” added Barbieri. Satisfied with the accomplishments of its MicroStrategy applications, La Rinascente plans to extend the reach of its MicroStrategy platform and roll out additional query and reporting capabilities to its end user community.

About La Rinascente

The Rinascente Group is today one of the largest retail trade firms in Italy with 1,358 sales outlets (under direct management, affiliated and associated), and approximately 30,000 employees. Investments totaling EUR 303 million and sales totaling EUR 5,543 million summarize the Group’s activities in the year 2000. The Rinascente Group is listed on the Italian Stock Exchange. Eurofind, a company shared by Ifil Spa and the French Group Auchan, which is one of the most prestigious large-scale retail trade firms in the world, holds the controlling stake in La Rinascente.

The Rinascente Group operates different store brands (including La Rinascente, Upim, SMA, Cityper, Punto Sma, Auchan), and manages 38 commercial malls under the brand name Galleria Auchan. It also has an online selection of fine foods (http://www.ioverrei.it) and an online site for apparel and household products (http://www.rinascente.it). For more information, please visit The Rinanscente Group’s site at http://www.rinascente.it.

About MicroStrategy Incorporated.

Leadership in a Critical Market: Founded in 1989, MicroStrategy is a worldwide leader in the increasingly critical business intelligence software market. Large and small companies alike are harnessing MicroStrategy’s business intelligence software to gain vital insights from their data to help them proactively enhance cost-efficiency, productivity and customer relations and optimize revenue-generating strategies. MicroStrategy’s business intelligence platform offers exceptional capabilities that provide organizations — in virtually all facets of their operations — with user-friendly solutions to their data query, reporting, and advanced analytical needs, and distributes valuable insight on this data to users via Web, wireless, and voice. PC Magazine selected MicroStrategy 7(TM) as the 2001 “Editors’ Choice” for business intelligence software.

Enterprise-Class Business Intelligence: MicroStrategy 7i(TM) is a truly integrated, enterprise-class, Web-based business intelligence platform. With MicroStrategy 7i, enterprises can now standardize on one business intelligence platform and deploy high-value business intelligence enterprise-wide. MicroStrategy 7i’s configurable query, reporting, and OLAP Web interface is designed to support all users, from casual report viewers to power analysts.

Diverse Customer Base: MicroStrategy’s customer base cuts across industry and sector lines, with over 1,700 enterprise-class customers, including Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse, AT&T Wireless Group, Wachovia and GlaxoSmithKline. MicroStrategy also has relationships with over 400 systems integrators and application development and platform partners, including IBM, PeopleSoft, Hewlett-Packard, and JD Edwards.

MicroStrategy is listed on Nasdaq under the symbol MSTR. For more information on the company, or to purchase or demo MicroStrategy’s software, please visit MicroStrategy’s Web site at http://www.microstrategy.com.

This press release may include statements that may constitute “forward- looking statements,” including its estimates of future business prospects or financial results and statements containing the words “believe,” “estimate,” “project,” “expect” or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results of MicroStrategy Incorporated and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”) to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that could contribute to such differences include: the Company’s ability to secure financing for its current operations and long-term plans on acceptable terms; the ability of the Company to implement and achieve widespread customer acceptance of its MicroStrategy 7i software on a timely basis; the Company’s ability to recognize deferred revenue through delivery of products or satisfactory performance of services; the Company’s ability to effect the sale of non-core assets on reasonable terms; continued acceptance of the Company’s products in the marketplace; the timing of significant orders; delays in the Company’s ability to develop or ship new products; market acceptance of new products; competitive factors; general economic conditions; currency fluctuations; and other risks detailed in the Company’s registration statements and periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. By making these forward-looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release.

MicroStrategy, MicroStrategy Business Intelligence Platform, MicroStrategy 7, MicroStrategy 7i are either trademarks or registered trademarks of MicroStrategy Incorporated in the United States and certain other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Alka Nayyar
MicroStrategy Incorporated
(703) 847-4897
anayyar@microstrategy.com

Source: MicroStrategy