GXS Positioned in Visionary Quadrant in Product Information Management Magic Quadrant

Business Wire, Jan 18, 2006

GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- GXS, a leading provider of business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce solutions, today announced that it has been positioned in the Visionary quadrant in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Product Information Management 2005(1), recently published by Gartner, Inc., a leading worldwide research and advisory firm. GXS was placed in the quadrant based on its ability to execute and vision in product information management (PIM). According to Gartner, no leader will emerge in the PIM market prior to 2007.

With the first-ever publishing of a Magic Quadrant for PIM, Gartner recognizes the PIM market as immature, but evolving quickly. The report provides an evaluation of nine vendors in the PIM market on their ability to execute, as well as their vision. According to Gartner, Visionaries have a clear vision of market direction and are focused on preparing for that, but they can still improve in terms of optimizing service delivery.

Based on preliminary market-sizing data for 2004 (PIM for all industries is estimated at $110 million in license revenue) and 2005 ($180 million), Gartner rates this emerging market as "promising." Based on conversations with clients, Gartner expects to see strong growth across a wide range of industries, including retail, consumer goods, industrial, automotive, life-sciences and distribution/wholesale. In fact, Gartner estimates that by 2009, the PIM market will see strong growth, reaching revenue of more than $500 million (0.7 probability).

According to the report, "Organizations struggle to gain a consistent, complete and accurate single view of the products they manufacture or handle for operational and analytical purposes." The report went on to say, "Product information management (PIM) is the key technology that has emerged to help enterprises support their Product Content and Data Management (PCDM) efforts."

"By positioning GXS in the 'Visionaries' quadrant, we feel that Gartner has confirmed our market presence, vision and strength of solution offerings," said Bobby Patrick, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at GXS. "GXS has a vast amount of experience in the PIM market and its solutions deliver strategic business value. We believe this confirmation along with our breadth of PIM offerings customized for businesses of nearly any size or budget, makes GXS the natural choice for businesses in need of consistent, complete and accurate product data."

Available as hosted solutions or licensed software, GXS PIM solutions empower businesses of all sizes to manage product information and optimize product data synchronization, effectively creating a 'single version of the truth' for all product data. Service offerings include PIM Supplier Edition, PIM Retailer Edition, PIM Express and Global Product Catalogue for small or medium-sized businesses. All are linked to the Global Data Synchronization Network via a GS1-certified data pool that serves as a key enabler for the synchronization of product information between trading partners around the world. With GXS PIM solutions, organizations can streamline business processes, reduce operating costs, increase product data accuracy and timeliness and enhance interoperability with global data pools. Companies that leverage GXS PIM solutions to automate business processes and create a single global repository of synchronized product information include AAFES, Dole, Piggly Wiggly and Pfizer.

About GXS

GXS is a leading global provider of B2B e-commerce solutions that simplify and enhance business process integration and collaboration. Organizations worldwide, including more than 75 percent of the Fortune 500, leverage the GXS Trading Grid(SM) to achieve the perfect balance between supply and demand. Active in the global standards arena, GXS solutions enable customers both large and small, to connect with global partners, synchronize product information, optimize inventory levels and demand forecasts, and accelerate the execution of supply chains.

Headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., GXS provides sales and support to businesses and their partners worldwide. For more information visit our Web site at www.gxs.com.

About the Magic Quadrant

The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted 30 December 2005 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

(1) White, Andrew, "Magic Quadrant for Product Information Management, 2005," Gartner, Inc., 30 December 2005.