Conjoin Announces Availability of Field.First 2.0 Sales and Marketing Portal; New Capabilities Enhance Sales-to-Customer Interactions.

Business/Technology Editors

BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2000

Company Addresses Critical Need in the Marketplace for Internet-based

Tools Which Provide Sales Channels with the Ammunition Necessary to

Close Orders

Conjoin, Inc., the leading provider of sales and marketing portals, today announced the availability of Field.First(TM) 2.0. A robust, cost-efficient sales and marketing portal solution, Field.First helps the corporate sales force or channel prepare and present relevant information, while allowing marketing to publish, manage, and track all sales tools. Designed to solve the age-old issue of poor communication between sales and marketing organizations, Conjoin has expanded Field.First's capabilities to facilitate tighter interactions between the sales force and customers.

"This area of the market has been largely ignored," says Sheryl Kingstone, program manager for the Yankee Group's Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Strategies Planning Service. "The key for today's sales representatives is to create demand in the mind of the customer before the competition. The sales representative that is able to quickly assemble the information needed to prepare efficiently and respond to customer requests is more likely to win the deal. Conjoin addresses a critical need in the marketplace for software solutions that enhance sales effectiveness in these ways."

With Field.First, sales professionals can access relevant, approved content, and sales-focused Web application modules designed to help them prepare more efficiently and sell more effectively. Within the intranet or extranet portal, they can build presentations; brief themselves on a competitor or new product; or present key information to customers through direct connection to fulfillment options including the creation of a personal Web site for the customer.

Aspen Technology has implemented Field.First and plans to upgrade to the new version in the coming months. The company anticipates great value from Field.First's ability to aid its sales force in closing orders quickly, and expects the new version to provide even greater results. "Providing quality information to our sales force in real-time is critical," explains Steve Ruzicka, director of sales operations for Aspen Technology. "With Field.First, we'll be able to provide not only real-time information, but also, with the new features in Conjoin's latest release, significantly enhance communications between the sales force and the customer. We are looking forward to taking advantage of Field.First 2.0."

Field.First 2.0 new and enhanced features include:

-- Website Builder -- Sales reps quickly create and post content to branded, password-protected sites outside the firewall, providing a virtual literature kit that can be updated easily and maintained post-sale for improved customer relations.

-- Field.First/PDA -- Handheld and wireless device integration is ideal for road-based Field Reps. Through a technical integration with the AvantGo Enterprise Server, reps can download Workspaces and simple documents into their Palm, Handspring, or Windows CE handheld devices.

-- Ship It -- Sales reps can send pre-approved collateral to customers via a new online fulfillment feature (integrated with a company's established distribution center).

-- Personal address book integration -- Allows users to upload a directory stored in Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Outlook Express.

-- Confidentiality -- Content can be designated confidential to prevent distribution of proprietary material.

-- Multiple user profiles -- Provides multiple views for users with multiple roles to retain the benefits of targeted content without the limitation of a single view.

-- Enhanced user interface -- Enables easy sorting by author, title, size, date, file type, and confidentiality; and branding by user group. Also provides a basket feature, which lets users quickly gather desired content for later use.

-- Secure Socket Layer (SSL) -- For extranet deployments, the SSL protocol may now be used for secure communication of account information over the Internet.

-- Available as software or through an Application Service Provider (ASP).

-- Integration with Plumtree(R) Corporate Portal now available.

"Look inside most any Fortune 1000 company's sales and marketing organization, and you'll find frustrated sales representatives unable to quickly locate the information they need to prepare for sales calls and equally frustrated marketing professionals pumping out hoards of sales tools to the field, but unable to ascertain their value to that audience," says Nick d'Arbeloff, Conjoin's president and chief executive officer. "Field.First is alleviating these frustrations for leading edge companies such as Compaq, Analog Devices, Aspen Technology, and Boston Scientific. In addition, we've expanded the product's capabilities to improve communication with customers; helping sales professionals to close more deals and maintain strong customer relationships."

Pricing and Availability

Field.First is available now; pricing is user-based, with installations starting under $50,000.

About Conjoin

Conjoin, Inc. is the industry's leading provider of sales and marketing portal solutions. The company's flagship product, Field.First(TM) substantially increases the selling effectiveness of sales professionals and channel partners by fundamentally improving the flow of information between marketing and sales, and between sales and the customer. Field.First enables marketing professionals to effortlessly deliver the most relevant materials to the field, while allowing sales representatives to prepare more efficiently, sell more effectively, and achieve a distinct competitive advantage. Conjoin is based in Bedford, Massachusetts, and can be found on the Web at www.conjoin.com.