Azul Partners Expands Customer Roster; Firm Adds Ariba, Inc. to List of Companies Leveraging Its Services to Create and Maximize Market Opportunities.

CHICAGO, Ill. -- Azul Partners, a leading provider of strategic marketing services and content to software and professional service organizations, today announced that it has expanded its customer roster. The firm has added Ariba(R), Inc. (Nasdaq:ARBA), the leading Spend Management (SM) solutions provider, to the list of companies leveraging its services to create and maximize market opportunities.

"In today's global economy, increased competition and market consolidation are realities that all companies face," said Azul Partners Founder and Managing Director Jason Busch. "Azul helps companies overcome these challenges by designing innovative marketing strategies that enable them to create new markets for their products and services and ultimately, own them."

Azul Partners develops custom content and competitive strategies that empower companies to influence and effectively capture markets. Whether attempting to gain additional share of an existing market or selling into a new one, Azul provides a comprehensive range of services that allow companies to quickly achieve results, including:

--Branding and Thought Leadership

--Corporate Strategy and Positioning

--Strategic Content

--Corporate Alignment and Message Testing

"Ariba is uniquely focused on developing and delivering Spend Management solutions that enable some of the largest companies in the world to accelerate their bottom line results," said Kevin Brooks, Director of Corporate Communications, Ariba. "Our communications and marketing efforts require content of the highest caliber in order to be credible and effective. Azul Partners has provided just this kind of expert level marketing content, which we have successfully incorporated into our overall marketing efforts."

In addition to Ariba, Azul provides its services to a number of leading software and professional service organizations, including Exostar, Verticalnet, and Aptium Global.

"The need for market-driven positioning and content in the supply chain arena has never been greater," said Julian Kulkarni, Managing Director of Market Execution, an international marketing consultancy based in London and Brussels. "Azul Partners has a unique set of capabilities that enable companies to differentiate their offerings and capitalize on opportunities to expand their market share."

About Azul Partners

Azul Partners works with organizations to develop persuasive content and novel strategies that incorporate rational arguments, deep research and subject matter expertise. Founded in Chicago in January 2004, Azul Partners advises leading software and professional services organizations. For more information about the company, please visit our website at www.azulpartners.com