NightFire Announces Support for Universal Application Network at Siebel Worldwide User Week 2002.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

Siebel Worldwide User Week 2002

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 23, 2002

Integrated Solution Benefits Communications Companies

Looking to Streamline Service Fulfillment

NightFire Software Inc., a leading provider of standards-based service management solutions for communications companies, today announced support for Universal Application Network--the industry's first standards-based, vendor-independent application integration solution--launched by Siebel Systems in conjunction with industry-leading application software vendors, integration server vendors, and systems integrators. Siebel Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SEBL) is a leading provider of multichannel eBusiness applications software.

As part of its endorsement, NightFire plans to provide pre-built connectivity between the NightFire(R) Platform and Universal Application Network. The integrated solution will provide communications companies with a flexible way to automate fulfillment for such communications services as circuit-switched or packet voice, digital subscriber line (DSL), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), and wireline and wireless number portability, and to rapidly deploy new services. In addition, connectivity to the NightFire Platform through Universal Application Network means that one integration provides single access to NightFire's entire portfolio of intercarrier provisioning applications, which includes applications for access, broadband, local, and wireless services.

This week in the Partner Pavilion at Siebel Worldwide User Week 2002, NightFire demonstrated a Universal Application Network business process that seamlessly integrates Siebel eCommunications 7 and the NightFire Platform. The Wholesale Order Management business process is designed for incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) and international telecommunications companies (referred to as PTTs--a historical reference that stands for Post Telephone & Telegraph). The demo shows how an ILEC or PTT's wholesale division can more efficiently receive, process, and provision orders for advanced services, such as DSL, ATM, and Frame Relay, sent to the ILEC or PTT from its network of reseller partners.

NightFire plans to submit the NightFire Platform integration with Universal Application Network to the Siebel Validation Program within 90 days of Siebel Worldwide User Week 2002.

Universal Application Network takes a standards-based, vendor-independent approach to the design and development of end-to-end best-practice business processes that are executed by market-leading integration servers. Based on XML and Web Services industry standards, Universal Application Network enables organizations to effectively integrate best-in-class applications, such as NightFire's service management solutions, and ensures that organizations are not locked into vendor-specific proprietary architectures.

Leveraging Universal Application Network as a common integration platform, NightFire and Siebel Systems will deliver an enhanced integrated telecommunications service provisioning solution that combines best practices drawn from both Siebel Systems' business process library and NightFire's service management solutions. Initially, three types of telecommunications service provider challenges will be addressed:

-- ILECs or PTTs managing orders from multiple trading partners

-- Wireless carriers porting customer telephone numbers

-- Local exchange carriers provisioning voice service

The solutions will provide communications companies with integrated service provisioning that involves less cost, requires less time to implement, and delivers ongoing savings through automation of complex operations. This integrated telecommunications service provisioning solution based on Universal Application Network also gives communications service providers greater flexibility and control by simplifying maintenance and upgrades, as well as accelerating the rollout of new services.

"Universal Application Network is an important and timely development in application integration for the communications industry," said Venkates Swaminathan, Founder, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategist for NightFire Software. "NightFire has been working with Siebel Systems to help communications companies deliver services more quickly and efficiently. With our support for Universal Application Network, Siebel Systems and NightFire will deliver a new level of automation and flexibility that will, in turn, help customers further improve the return on their service management infrastructure."

"Our goal in working closely with industry leaders such as NightFire is to give communications providers best-in-class solutions that solve complex problems more efficiently," said Michael Straub, Alliance Technical Director for Siebel Systems. "Communications providers stand to lower integration costs while gaining the improved flexibility needed to quickly deploy new applications and services."

NightFire has been a member of the Siebel Alliance Program since February 2001. The integration of NightFire Suite version 3 with Siebel 6 has been validated through the Siebel Systems Validation Program.

About NightFire Software Inc.

Since 1997, NightFire Software, Inc. has been helping the world's leading communications companies automate service management. Local, long-distance, and mobile wireless communications providers across the industry rely on NightFire's experience, expertise, and proven solutions to more rapidly and efficiently deliver services to their customers. Headquartered in Oakland, Calif., NightFire is a privately held company. To learn more, please visit www.nightfire.com.

About Universal Application Network

As organizations struggle to unify myriad disparate business processes and applications, integration is one of the key corporate constraints on revenue growth, increased productivity, and business performance visibility. Universal Application Network takes a standards-based, vendor-independent approach to the design and development of end-to-end business processes that are executed by market-leading integration servers. In addition, these business processes are application-independent and can be deployed across a diverse set of applications across multiple divisions and business units. Based on XML and Web Services industry standards, Universal Application Network enables organizations to select best-in-class applications and ensures that they are not locked into vendor-specific proprietary architectures. Universal Application Network includes three primary components:

-- Best-Practice Business Process Library--A library of

prepackaged industry-specific business processes based on best

practices. These prebuilt, quality-assured business processes,

provided by Siebel Systems, can be executed across multiple

applications, departments, organizations, and enterprises.

-- Business Process Design Tools--A selection of business process

design tools, provided by leading integration server vendors,

for modeling and configuring existing business processes and

creating new ones.

-- Integration Server--An integration server to execute business

processes and coordinate interapplication communication.

The result is a vendor-independent application integration solution that enables organizations to rapidly respond to business opportunities, optimize organizational performance, and realize unprecedented business value from existing systems.

Siebel is a trademark of Siebel Systems, Inc. and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. All other product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners and are mentioned for identification purposes only.

NightFire and the NightFire logo are registered trademarks, and "Proven Solutions. Breakthrough Results." is a service mark, of NightFire Software, Inc. All other company, brand, and product names are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.