Saba and Niku Team to Offer Internet-based Learning and Professional Services Automation Capabilities

Business Wire, August 3, 2000

Business Editors & High-tech Writers

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 3, 2000

Making service organizations, from IT Consulting Organizations to

Financial Services firms, more effective and competitive by

aligning job needs and competencies

Saba (Nasdaq: SABA), the company that connects people to learning, announced today that it has formed an alliance with Niku Corporation (Nasdaq: NIKU), a leading provider of Internet solutions for the sourcing, management and delivery of professional service. Together, Saba and Niku will co-market an Internet-based learning and operational solution that will help professional service providers, from IT consulting organizations to financial services firms, become more competitive and effective, faster, by allowing them to more closely align specific job needs with workforce competencies.

By seamlessly integrating Saba Learning(TM) with Niku's professional services automation solutions, Saba and Niku offer companies the opportunity to better match, manage, and upgrade the competencies, skills, and certifications of their people. As a result, both in-house and external professional services providers, along with small businesses and individual professionals, can respond more quickly to market pressures, filling the job needs of specific projects with the right people at the right time.

Niku products allow its customers to identify the competencies and skills of people within their organizations, as well as providing individuals' schedules, skills, personal preferences, and recent experience profiles. Saba Learning extends the management capabilities to include identifying competency gaps, and delivering targeted online and offline learning to close those gaps. With the agreement announced today, customers will have the added benefit of new competencies and skills acquired through learning on Saba integrated into the Niku "available-employee" profile database.

"Professional services firms struggle daily with aligning the competencies, certifications and skills of their people with rapidly evolving market needs," said Joshua Pickus, president, Vertical Markets, Niku Corporation. "With rapid developments in the way we do business in the Internet Age, ongoing learning is a key to getting and staying competitive. With this agreement, Saba and Niku are increasing critical speed-to-market and time-to-competency advantages for our customers."

"Aligning the needs of the market with the skills and competencies of the workforce can make the difference between success and failure in any industry today," said Bobby Yazdani, Saba president and CEO. "But nowhere is that more apparent than in the professional services space, where Niku is so successful. Niku's customers are on the frontline, devising and implementing new and better solutions to help services organizations of all kinds meet today's competitive pressures. We are pleased that Niku, understanding that learning is integral to the process, has chosen to partner with Saba to provide more and better services to its clients."

About Niku

Niku Corporation provides Internet software products and an online marketplaces for the sourcing, management and delivery of professional services. Niku's Internet software products are designed to automate the core business processes of professional services organizations, professional services providers within enterprises and small businesses, and individual professionals. Niku customers include industry-leading firms such as Bell Atlantic, Cisco Systems, Computer Associates, Tata Consultancy Services and Xerox Connect.

About Saba

Saba (Nasdaq: SABA), the company that connects people to learning, is a leading provider of e-learning infrastructure, which consists of Internet-based learning management systems, business-to-business learning exchanges, and related services. Saba e-learning infrastructure -- and online and offline training from Saba's learning providers -- to increase competitive advantage by rapidly building critical skills throughout their extended enterprises of customers, partners, employees, and suppliers.

As of May 31, 2000, more than 2,800,000 people around the world and 30,000 learning offerings were "on Saba." Customers include Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD), Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO), Ford (NYSE: F), General Electric (NYSE: GE), and i2 Technologies (Nasdaq: ITWO). Saba's learning providers can be found at www.saba.com/exchange.> Founded in 1997, Saba is a global company headquartered in Redwood Shores, CA, USA. For more information, please visit www.saba.com or call 877/Saba-101 or 650/696-1758 in the Americas, 44-0-208-334-8043 in Europe - Middle East - Africa, or 61-2-9293-2538 in Asia - Pacific.

Note to Editors: Niku, the Niku logo, iNiku, iNiku.com, xNiku, eNiku and Niku Services Marketplace are trademarks of Niku Corporation in the United States and other countries. Any other product brand names used are property of their respective owners.

Saba, the Saba logo, saba.com, the phrase "Connecting People to Learning" and its variants, Saba Learning, Saba Learning Enterprise, Saba Learning e-Store, Saba Learning Exchange, and the marks relating to other Saba products and services referenced herein are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Saba Software, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.