Sterling Commerce Hires VisionEdge Marketing to Help Identify Market Opportunities for Growth

Business integration solutions provider works with VisionEdge Marketing to identify key markets for 2005

November 9, 2004, Austin, TX. Marketing consulting firm, VisionEdge Marketing, announced that it is providing market sizing and segmentation services for Sterling Commerce of Columbus, OH. The company engaged VisionEdge Marketing to help identify markets offering the best potential for growth. VisionEdge Marketing’s MarketSmart Service™ methodology is being applied to the segmentation work.

Sterling Commerce, a wholly owned subsidiary of SBC, is using the results of the market analysis to prioritize market segments that require multi-enterprise collaborative solutions to achieve a competitive edge. “VisionEdge Marketing is helping Sterling Commerce bring a new market-centric product strategy to life by providing critical market segmentation intelligence,” said Nolan Rosen, CMO of Sterling Commerce. “With VisionEdge Marketing’s research and analysis, we will go into the new year with highly focused product, sales and marketing strategies.”

“Our time-tested methodology for market sizing and segmentation is helping Sterling Commerce focus their resources for maximum effectiveness,” said Laura Patterson, President of VisionEdge Marketing.

“We have noticed a definite trend in 2004,” continued Patterson. “The more successful companies have moved away from slashing budgets and headcount and toward strategic activities that deliver tighter focus, better-informed business decisions, and message impact.”

Having completed this past year over 20 major consulting engagements for companies in ten sectors and 18 different industries in Texas, California and Ohio, VisionEdge Marketing believes it has its finger on the pulse of business-to-business marketing trends.

These observations are reinforced by data from a study commissioned by Unica Corp., a developer of enterprise marketing management software, showing a shift in priorities by leading companies away from cost cutting and toward more strategic and measurable marketing activities. By realizing the most beneficial market opportunities, companies saw an overall increase in marketing budgets up to eleven percent from 2003.

About VisionEdge Marketing, Inc.

VisionEdge Marketing, Inc., visionedgemarketing.com, a strategic and product marketing consulting firm that excels at helping business-to-business companies strengthen their competitive advantage to accelerate their ability to acquire, keep, and grow a profitable customer base. They provide market and customer insight, identify new market opportunities, provide product and company positioning strategies, drive revenue through customer acquisition and retention initiative, and enhance marketing expertise for organizations. In 2004 the company published “Measure What Matters: Reconnecting Marketing to Business Goals,” and introduced Envisage, an online suite of marketing tools. Founded in 1999, VisionEdge Marketing is located in Austin, Texas.

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 Global 5000 companies and their customers, suppliers and partners, Sterling Commerce, www.sterlingcommerce.com, software and services help maximize business performance and improve business metrics through integration of applications, external partner systems and people throughout the extended supply chain or business partner network.

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