Aquent and Sonata Software enter into Strategic Alliance.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 10, 2003

Alliance combines Aquent's strengths in customer management,

program management, and onsite project coordination with Sonata's

proven capabilities in providing offshore software services

Aquent LLC, a global professional services firm delivering IT and Creative solutions, has formed a strategic alliance with Sonata Software Ltd, an IT consulting and Software Service company headquartered in Bangalore, India. This alliance enables Aquent to integrate offshore software services into a proven US-based delivery model. As a result, Aquent's clients will benefit both from the cost advantages of sending work offshore and Aquent's extensive experience managing all aspects of complex software development projects.

"We're excited about Sonata's commitment to the partnership model. Our combined strengths produced a strong success story from the very first project," said Dan Neff, VP in charge of Aquent's Software Development Center. Sonata holds SEI CMM level 5, and ISO 9000 certifications. Sonata is an established, stable company delivering steady growth and sustained profitability since its inception in 1986.

Working together, Aquent and Sonata will pursue a managed offshore model. Aquent will serve as the client's single point of contact, assuming local accountability for all work completed and helping the client determine what work is best done locally, and what work can be done effectively offshore. Selecting the right work to send offshore is a critical success factor.

"We feel strongly that the managed model is the right way to go for a lot of companies," states Dan Neff, "While large companies often have the option of setting up their own offshore facility or hiring dedicated resources to manage offshore relationships, an alliance such as this perfectly fits the needs of medium to large sized companies. We can offer personalized service to these companies and scale our solution to meet their business goals."

Commenting on Sonata-Aquent Alliance, Mr. B. Ramaswamy the CEO of Sonata says "The alliance between Aquent and Sonata is targeted to provide tightly integrated, scalable solutions bringing the customer benefits of offshore transparently. Sonata's approach to alliances is based on shared vision and our alliance with Aquent involves significant level of co-operation in marketing as well as service delivery."

About Aquent:

Aquent LLC (aquent.com) is a privately held professional services company with nearly 70 offices in 15 countries. Aquent focuses on IT and Creative Services, and provides a wide range of consulting, outsourcing, and staffing solutions for Global 1000 companies. Aquent was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.

About Sonata Software:

Sonata Software Limited, a SEI CMM Level 5 and ISO 9001 Indian IT consulting and Software Services Company, is catering to its clients in the US, UK and Europe since past 17 year. Sonata is a public limited company with Zero Debt. Sonata's shares are publicly traded in the Indian Stock Exchanges with the company's employees holding 13%(April 2003) ownership. Nurturing long-term partnerships has been a way of life at Sonata. The company firmly believes that in the "Power of Partnership" lies the ability to identify more opportunities, increase individual strengths and intensify commitments.