Aspen Technology Simplifies Sales Process with Conjoin's Sales and Marketing Portal Solution; Adopts Web-enabled Selling to Shorten Sales Cycle and Improve ROI

Business Wire, August 7, 2000

Business/Technology Editors

BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 7, 2000

Conjoin, Inc., the leading provider of a sales and marketing portal solution that Web-enables the sales force, today announced that Aspen Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:AZPN) is implementing Field.First(TM) to simplify its sales process. Using Field.First, more than 100 Aspen Technology sales representatives will have immediate access to high-quality marketing materials, allowing them to shorten the sales cycle and improve the close rate.

Aspen Technology is the leading supplier of integrated solutions that allow process manufacturers to automate and optimize their plants and extended supply chains while enabling e-business. Its tools are used by a number of industries, including chemicals, consumer packaged goods, metals, power/utilities, and pulp and paper. With a remote sales force located worldwide, Aspen Technology sought to make it easier to consistently obtain the quality information they needed - when they needed it - to close deals.

"Field.First is a powerful solution that fits our needs perfectly," said Steve Ruzicka, director of sales operations for Aspen Technology. "While continuously improving our sales process to build a scalable model for growth, we concluded that it is critical to provide quality information to our sales force in real-time. Field.First provided the best match with our needs. We expect the product will be an essential part of our sales efforts."

"Even in today's Internet enabled world, the majority of B2B companies use direct and indirect sales channels where the interaction is primarily conducted offline and relies heavily on the relationship between the customer and a salesperson or channel partner," said Sheryl Kingstone, Program Manager at The Yankee Group. "However, gone are the days when salespeople were provided with nothing more than briefcases filled with outdated brochures, pricing and competitive information. Conjoin represents a new breed of application that improves sales effectiveness and multi-channel collaboration by sharing critical sales and marketing information across the extended enterprise."

Field.First is an applications-focused sales and marketing portal solution. Aspen Technology's marketing department publishes information to Field.First, which is accessed by the 120 quota carrying sales force to build custom presentations, learn about new product offerings, and retrieve custom marketing materials. Aspen expects its Field.First user community to grow to 400 this year by expanding access to additional field personnel.

In choosing Field.First, Aspen Technology shared the solution with a number of sales representatives. They were most impressed with Field.First's Content Profiler, through which all material published is categorized by the specific products, markets, competitors, and best business practices; the Feedback Manager, which allows sales to rate all materials published, so marketing knows what works and what doesn't; and the Content Lifecycle Manager, which keeps the intranet fresh by archiving old and underused materials. Aspen Technology is implementing Field.First now, with the full roll-out to be completed by the end of the summer.

"Field.First will undoubtedly simplify the sales process and bring us closer to our customers," Ruzicka said, noting that Field.First is replacing a solution in which material is available in scattered locations on the company's network. "With more than 100 geographically-aligned, remote sales representatives worldwide, Field.First allows us immediate access to high-quality material which can be targeted specifically to our customers' business needs."

Nick d'Arbeloff, CEO of Conjoin, said, "We are confident that once Field.First is fully deployed, Aspen Technology will reap the benefits of a shortened sales cycle and an improved bottom line. We look forward to working with Aspen Technology through the implementation and beyond as they aim to create a simplified sales process that gets results."

About Aspen Technology

Aspen Technology, Inc. is the leading supplier of integrated software and solutions that enable process manufacturers to automate and optimize their plants and extended supply chains while enabling e-business. With deep process knowledge, best-in-class technology, and strategic alliances with leading business and technology partners, AspenTech offers the industry's broadest family of scalable solutions allowing our customers to be successful in the Internet economy. AspenTech's Plantelligence(TM) solutions automate and optimize critical business processes at the plant level. AspenTech's Enterprise Optimization solutions extend the scope of optimization across the enterprise and extended supply chain. AspenTech employs more than 1,500 people worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.aspentech.com.

About Conjoin

Conjoin, Inc. develops and markets Field.First(TM), the industry's leading sales and marketing intranet solution. Serving as a highly efficient hub for transfer of information and intelligence, Field.First's sales-focused applications facilitate highly effective and efficient information flow between sales and marketing organizations. The Field.First solution suite enables marketing to effortlessly deliver the most relevant materials to the field, while allowing sales representatives to dramatically decrease the time it takes to ramp up on new products, reduce competitive loss rates, and significantly increase selling effectiveness. Conjoin is based in Bedford, Massachusetts, and can be found on the Web at www.conjoin.com.