BCE Emergis Inc. - Top Canadian Telco Commits $40 Million to Commercializing BCE Emergis Solutions - BCE Emergis To Benefit From Bell Canada's E-commerce Investment.

Business Editors & High Tech Writers

MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 29, 2000

BCE Emergis(TSE:IFM) announced today that Bell Canada has committed $40 million to commercializing its e-commerce solutions. This investment is part of the major reseller agreement signed with Bell Canada and which will bring to BCE Emergis a market reach of over half-a-million Canadian enterprises in the small, medium and large business markets. The synergy created by this arrangement will help BCE Emergis and Bell increase revenues, stimulate growth and expand market share.

According to this agreement, Bell Canada will invest $40 million over the next four years to promote and distribute BCE Emergis' electronic commerce solutions as the best available in the small and medium-sized business markets in Ontario and Quebec. Bell Canada will also market those solutions to its national, large-business customers through Bell Nexxia.

"This agreement is a win-win proposition," said Mr. John Sheridan, Vice-Chairman, Bell Canada. "It's about bringing unparalleled value and expertise to our customers by giving them a simple, comprehensive, integrated one-stop solution for all their e-commerce needs, with a company they know and trust. The reseller agreement builds and strengthens the already positive and productive relationship between all Bell Canada sales channels and BCE Emergis. Today's agreement is the next logical step to the Preferred Supplier status Bell Canada granted to BCE Emergis for its electronic commerce solutions last June."

"Small and medium-sized businesses represent a large potential market for our electronic commerce solutions," said Mr. Christian Trudeau, Chief Operating Officer, BCE Emergis. "We're expecting that Bell Canada's unparalleled knowledge of this market will translate into new business for us. Similarly, we're looking forward to opening a channel to Canada's large, national companies through Bell Nexxia."

The reseller agreement will lead Bell and BCE Emergis to share market intelligence and coordinate their individual marketing activities. Said Mr. Trudeau: "We will work hand-in-hand with Bell Canada in approaching the customer with a viable, cost-effective solution. This is particularly likely when the customer is interested in high-end, customized electronic commerce and telecommunications solutions. That's the beauty of this agreement and the reason we feel so strongly that this kind of collaboration is the way of the future."

For the purpose of this agreement, BCE Emergis has developed a new signature stamp that will be displayed on all Bell Canada's and Bell Nexxia's e-commerce promoting material such as advertising, web sites, brochures, etc. Look for this signature stamp, its graphical look suggests the partnership and dynamism of the companies who joined their effort to offer our clients the best e-commerce solution possible.

BCE Emergis delivers network-centric Internet commerce business solutions that improve customer processes through the exchange of secure transactions. Combining Internet commerce services, network infrastructure, security services, and payment solutions through industry vertical applications, BCE Emergis offers a full suite of core technologies that are the essential building blocks for electronic commerce. BCE Emergis, is among the top electronic commerce providers in North America and is listed on the TSE 100 Composite Index. For more information, please refer to www.emergis.com.

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or expectations of BCE Emergis with respect to its performance, business and future events. Such statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Actual results and events may vary significantly.