Ariane Systems

ATLANTA | Ariane Systems Group (Paris, France) announced today that it has established a definitive agreement to structure a joint venture with TAOS Technologies, LLC (Atlanta, GA), and its affiliates, to develop and deploy hospitality-oriented self-service technology solutions within North America. The new joint venture will be called Ariane Systems North America (AS NA) and will be headquartered in Atlanta, GA.

Ariane Systems Group is considered the standard in the production and deployment of self-service check-in/check-out solutions within the European, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) regions. The company is an industry leader in product manufacturing and software development, and offers a wide range of software products and customized service solutions recognized within the hospitality market.

TAOS Technologies' expertise lies in the deployment and support of custom developed software and guest-facing technologies including self-service check-in/check-out solutions in North America. TAOS Technologies is partnered with some of the largest hoteliers in the world for the development of IT solutions, and provides requirements gathering, R&D, hardware/software integration, project management, supplier management, site installation, and ongoing help desk support services.

Laurent Cardot. CEO of Ariane Systems said, "We are excited to enter into this joint venture with TAOS Technologies. Our combined expertise in hospitality technology solutions will provide North American hoteliers a best-in-class solution that will directly impact their bottom-line profitability." "Part of our service is to provide hotels with ROI studies based on the number of rooms, staff organization, length of stay.... Hotels realize that the ROI is very convincing as thousands of dollars can be saved annually without reducing the quality of service to the guests" adds Laurent Cardot. Jeff Councilman, President of TAOS Technologies, LLC said, "Leveraging the existing resources, processes and systems of both parties will provide both customer-facing and back office hospitality solutions at a depth and breadth not yet seen in North America."

The North American integrated offering will combine Ariane Systems Group's software development components, including licensing and maintenance agreements, with TAOS Technologies' hardware and service solutions offerings. Ariane Systems North America will be led and managed by TAOS Technologies, LLC in Atlanta, GA.

About Ariane Systems

Ariane Systems is Europe's leading provider of self check-in / check-out technology solutions for the hospitality industry. Founded in 1998 by Michel Lavandier and Laurent Cardot, Ariane now has over 1,400 kiosks installed at hotel properties in 14 countries. Currently, 24 of Europe's top 50 hotel chains utilize Ariane's electronic kiosk solutions to streamline the check-in / out process. These include Choice, Pullman, Radisson, Barcelo, Balladins, Campanile, Novotel, Ibis and Kyriad, among others. Ariane Systems offers a full range of products adapted to all types of hotels, from economy to business, independent or part of a chain. With expertise across the whole check-in/out kiosk product chain, from design to sales and European network support, Ariane Systems confidently ensure uninterrupted quality control, both at production and service level. For more information, please visit

About TAOS Technologies

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Taos Technologies is a leading provider of integrated technology solutions and custom software development services. The company's mission is to be recognized as an important force in setting and maintaining the standards of software development services in the hospitality IT solutions market by providing customers with high-quality, world-class, and cost-effective products and solutions. For more information, please visit .

Media Contact: Judy Willis (Fergusson), Chief Marketing Officer & COO, MERGE Agency, 404.974.4502, [email protected]

Portions of this document may constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined by federal law. Although the company believes any such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there is no assurance that actual outcomes will not be materially different. Any such statements are made in reliance on the "safe harbor" protections provided under the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. Additional information about issues that could lead to material changes in performance is contained in the company's annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Judy Willis
404-974-4502