Sterling Commerce Executive Jeanne Baker Named Chairman of BPMI.org; Cites Business Process Management As Vital Component To Collaborate With Business Community

Business Wire, Oct 19, 2004

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Business integration leader Sterling Commerce announced today that Jeanne Baker, the company's vice president of technology, recently was elected chairman of the board of the Business Process Management Initiative organization (BPMI.org), an international organization focused on promoting and developing the use of Business Process Management (BPM).

Previously a director for BPMI.org, Baker is recognized as one of the industry's leading authorities on BPM. As chairman of the BPMI.org board of directors, Baker will bring her expertise and leadership to the organization at a time when BPM is playing an increasing role in multi-enterprise collaboration and commerce.

"Business process modeling languages like BPEL (Business Process Execution Language) and BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notation) were designed to help enterprises extend their business processes beyond their four walls to their business partners - giving companies greater visibility into their supply chain, and ultimately, a competitive edge," Baker said.

Baker outlined her priorities for BPMI.org, which include:

--Delivering a graphical notation standard for business processes.

--Raising the industry's awareness of BPM.

--Advocating, clarifying and extending BPEL, the standard for business process execution approved by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS).

--Working with other standards bodies to improve the simplicity, interoperability and usefulness of complementary standards.

"Jeanne has an enormous amount of energy and dedication to advancing the adoption of business process execution standards," said Layna Fischer, executive director of BPMI.org. "Given her combination of expertise and ability, she is the ideal person to lead our efforts."

Sterling Commerce Chief Marketing Officer Nolan Rosen commented: "Jeanne's knowledge of BPM will help companies align IT projects to the true needs of their business. Companies that extend their business processes beyond their enterprise to collaborate with their trading partners will dominate competitors that try to go it alone."

Sterling Commerce supports open standards by staying active in industry groups that are defining the standards. In addition to BPMI.org, Sterling Commerce is represented on a number of technology committees for RosettaNet, OASIS, Uniform Code Council, Inc. (UCC), Electronic Product Code (EPC), Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG), Open Applications Group, Inc. (OAGi), American National Standards Institute X12 (ANSI X12), and more.

About BPMI.org

BPMI.org (the Business Process Management Initiative) is a non-profit corporation that empowers companies of all sizes, across all industries, to develop and operate business processes that span multiple applications and business partners, behind the firewall and over the Internet. The Initiative's mission is to promote and develop the use of Business Process Management (BPM) through the establishment of standards for process design, deployment, execution, maintenance, and optimization.

BPMI.org develops open specifications, assists IT vendors in marketing their implementations, and supports businesses in their use of business process management technologies. Currently comprising over 80 members, membership is open to all companies, non-profit organizations, and individuals.

For more information about BPMI.org, log onto www.bpmi.org.

About Sterling Commerce

Sterling Commerce, a wholly owned subsidiary of SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC), is one of the world's largest providers of business integration solutions. For more than 25 years, thousands of companies have depended on Sterling Commerce expertise to optimize collaborative relationships through the integration of applications, external partners, suppliers and customers. With more than 25,000 customers worldwide, Sterling Commerce is the dominant business integration solutions provider in retail, consumer packaged goods, manufacturing, financial services and telecommunications. For detailed, up-to-date information on Sterling Commerce and our solutions, visit www.sterlingcommerce.com.

SBC Communications Inc. (www.sbc.com) is a diversified communications company, owning several of the world's leading data, voice and Internet services providers. Through world-class networks, SBC companies provide a full range of voice, data, networking and e-business services, as well as directory advertising and publishing. A Fortune 30 company, SBC Communications Inc. owns America's leading provider of high-speed DSL Internet Access services and one of the nation's leading Internet Service Providers. SBC companies currently serve 55 million access lines nationwide. In addition, SBC companies own 60 percent of America's second-largest wireless company, Cingular Wireless, which serves more than 24 million wireless customers. Internationally, SBC companies have telecommunications investments in 26 countries.