Aris Corporation Delivers the eBusiness Goods to Shurgard Storage; Partnership Creates Fully-Functional Internet Presence for Shurgard.

Business/Hi-Tech Editors

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3, 2000

Aris Corporation (Nasdaq:ARSC), a leading eBusiness consultancy dedicated to new economy projects, today announced the development of a full-spectrum online business environment for Shurgard Storage Centers, Inc. (NYSE:SHU), a leading self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT).

The relationship between Aris and Shurgard began several months ago, with the development of an enterprise-wide, transaction-based eBusiness environment customized to service and support Shurgard customers. The new site lets Shurgard customers choose from a variety of services and products, including storage units, truck rentals, packing supplies and off-site inventory management, or locate the nearest Shurgard location.

Interactive storage rental? Shurgard.com now features an interactive "Space Estimator," which allows the customer to calculate the correct storage unit size based on what items they need to store, preventing the customer from renting a unit that is too large or too small for their needs.

"We envisioned eCommerce that would seamlessly connect the diverse group of products that Shurgard provides, while enabling customers to purchase and fulfill their storage needs in a personalized manner," said Tom Vail, a project manager for the custom solutions group at Aris. "It is a superb transaction-based application and we are proud of the relationship that has resulted."

The new direct sales channel creates a new method for purchasing storage products and services traditionally sold through local vendors. Despite the inherent challenge of coordinating the diverse offerings of more than 350 locations nationwide, Shurgard was able to establish leadership in the self-storage market online, while differentiating their company via a new message and a unified site theme. The solution was simple, powerful and scalable.

"As a leading self-storage company, we believe our customers deserve the cutting-edge convenience of ordering our products online, and Aris has successfully combined and incorporated our vision and products and services into an application that best meets our customer's needs," said John Steckler, vice president of marketing for Shurgard.

About Aris

Aris Corporation provides an integrated eBusiness solutions approach called interactive Enterprise Relationship Management (iERM), designed to deepen and cement a company's relationships with customers, employees, investors, and business-to-business partners by leveraging enterprise systems with the power of the Internet. Aris has offices across the U.S. and in the United Kingdom, with over 700 employees worldwide, and is headquartered in Bellevue, WA.

About Shurgard

Shurgard Storage Centers, Inc., is a fully integrated, self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT), headquartered in Seattle, WA. The company specializes in all aspects of the self-storage industry and operates a network of over 350 storage centers located throughout the United States and in Europe. Since 1971, Shurgard has aimed to be the global leader in their industry through exceptional customer service and high quality, convenient storage centers. Shurgard is followed by securities analysts at leading institutions. For additional information, please visit www.shurgard.com.