AIAG Appoints Sterling Commerce Engineer as Program Architect for Interoperability Initiatives; Automotive Industry Action Group Taps Veteran IT Engineer Chuck Fenton.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 2, 2003

Sterling Commerce (NYSE:SBC) announced today that Chuck Fenton, principal engineer for its Standards and Applied Technology Group, has been appointed as Inventory Visibility and Interoperability Program architect for the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG), a non-profit alliance of companies dedicated to improving business processes throughout the automotive industry supply chain.

"We are sincerely pleased and grateful to have Chuck Fenton as a loaned executive in support of Inventory Visibility and Interoperability (IV&I) projects," said Andrew Cummins, AIAG Executive Director. "Chuck's role as IV&I Program Architect draws upon his extensive experience in automotive industry information technology and e-commerce systems, and will bolster a project that, for the first time, takes AIAG standards recommendations and validates them through a proof-of-concept and pilot program."

"We are delighted with the opportunity to dedicate Chuck's time and attention to an effort that we sincerely believe in and to an industry where Sterling Commerce has been a major player in supply chain management for many years," said Sam Starr, president and CEO of Sterling Commerce. "We have spent considerable time and energy assuring that our products are interoperable. This is another opportunity to support open standards and interoperability and to demonstrate that we are fully committed and invested in it. Chuck's involvement will help us maintain our position of leadership and ensure that our products and services reflect the needs of this very important customer base."

"Interoperability is one of the major issues facing the automotive supply chain today, and the time is right to collaboratively solve it," said Fenton, who works at the Sterling Commerce Ann Arbor, Mich., development and support center. Fenton will commute to nearby Southfield in suburban Detroit to attend to his new AIAG responsibilities. "I am pleased that AIAG has asked me to fill this important role at such a crucial time. It's challenging work, and I believe that I am up to the challenge."

Fenton also will continue part time with Principal Engineer duties at Sterling Commerce, focusing on proofs-of-concepts monitoring, open standards issues and small-to-medium enterprise interoperability and support.

Fenton will assume responsibilities at AIAG for overall proof-of- concept design of the IV&I implementation, including the engagement and management of several alliance partners and multiple solution providers. The IV&I pilot will use MIN/MAX business processes and a standard architecture interface that manages data by a single set of tools, even between competing product offerings, according to AIAG officials.

Fenton has 29 years of experience in information technology including more than a decade in e-commerce systems and technology. He has contributed to the development of many industry standards and protocols inside and outside the automotive space. Fenton filed two patents in 2001 in the areas of security and enablement of e-commerce systems. He is a member of AIAG, IEEE and holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of Michigan.

About AIAG Founded in 1982, the Automotive Industry Action Group is a not-for- profit association of companies involved in the automotive industry. Through the cooperation of OEMs and suppliers, AIAG's purpose is to create and offer solutions to common industry challenges, resulting in more improved and productive processes that will benefit the entire automotive supply chain.

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 software and services help maximize business performance and improve business metrics through integration of applications, external partner systems and people. With more than 25 years of experience serving more than 30,000 customers in a vast range of industries, Sterling Commerce is a recognized pioneer in electronic commerce through its longstanding expertise in EDI. Today, as customers explore new ways to improve business performance via the Internet, Sterling Commerce continues to innovate its software and services to further the global adoption of e-commerce while offering its customers strategic solutions that leverage existing technology. For more information, visit www.sterlingcommerce.com. SBC Communications Inc. (www.sbc.com) is one of the world's leading data, voice and Internet services providers. Through its 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, 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 58 million access lines nationwide. In addition, SBC companies own 60 percent of America's second-largest wireless company, Cingular Wireless, which serves more than 22 million wireless customers. Internationally, SBC companies have telecommunications investments in 25 countries. All products or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.