The message for Exact's first half ended June 30 was not the brightest news, but it was an improvement. The company has reduced the rate at which it is losing customers. "We have seen an improvement in the attrition rates in all businesses," chief executive Erik van der Meijden said in an earnings webcast. And in the Americas that meant a decline in revenue for Job Boss, Macola and Max. The Job Boss numbers were disappointing since it had been a doing better. Exact is staking its future on its Exact Online product, which is moving into the United States in beta form. In the meantime, it improved profitability despite a decline in revenue for the period just reported. Net income was about $20 million, a 56.2-percent increase from last year's first half. That improvement was accomplished by cost cutting stemming from last year's reorganization. However, the company boosted sales and marketing spending. Revenue of roughly $140 million for the most recently ended period was off by 3.2 percent from a year ago. Specialized Solutions had revenue of about $51.8 million, a 5.5-percent drop. That category includes the three American manufacturing products, Longview and Lohn. Profitability also fell with EBIDTA declining 14.4 percent to about $8.4 million. Americas revenue was around $30 million. All figures are in constant currencies

Edgewater Technology registered a sharp increase in net income on a slight increase in revenue for the second quarter ended June 30. Net income rose to $1.4 million, up from $134,000 a year earlier. A big factor in the rise in profit was the drop in expenses involving an embezzlement that occurred at Fullscope before it was purchased by Edgewater.

Business analytics vendor QlikTech registered a sharp increase in its loss for the second half ended June 30 as the company ramped up for a new product launch. The loss rose to $8.1 million for the most recently ended quarter, compared to just over $2 million a year earlier. That came as spending for hiring and R&D boosted operating expenses by 30.1 percent.

Epicor Software has named Noel Goggin as SVP and general manager of its retail solutions business. He takes over the spot held by Paul Salsgiver from September 2008 through July. Salsgiver's LinkedIn page shows he moved to IBM Gobal Business Services this month where his title is VP and partner in the Global Workday Practice.