SPL WorldGroup Elevates Level in Siebel Alliance Program and Announces Siebel Validation; Common Customers and Energy Companies Benefit From Tightly Integrated Solution.

Business & Energy Editors/High-Tech Writers

MORRISTOWN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 29, 2001

SPL WorldGroup Inc., the leading provider of customer management solutions to the global energy, water and waste management industries, today announced that it has upgraded its level of participation in the Siebel Alliance Program to that of a Premier Software Partner. Siebel Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:SEBL) is the world's leading provider of eBusiness applications software. SPL and Siebel Systems have developed a joint business plan and will be working closely together to deliver solutions to the utility market that provide both regulated utilities and energy service companies with increased business flexibility, efficiency and improved customer satisfaction.

As the first step in this expanded alliance, SPL announced that it has successfully validated the integration of its CorDaptix application version 1.2.5 with Siebel eEnergy 2000. Siebel eEnergy is a comprehensive suite of eBusiness applications designed specifically for the energy and utility industries that enables sales, marketing and customer service across all customer touchpoints including the Web, call centers, field service representatives and a mobile direct sales force. SPL's CorDaptix is the market-leading customer management solution that handles all transactions from customer initiation through product and service delivery to minimize risk for energy and service companies who are positioning to compete successfully in energy markets.

With this validation, customers of Siebel Systems and SPL WorldGroup can now leverage the detailed customer usage and purchasing history captured on an invoice, bill or statement, creating a more complete view of the customer for sales, service and marketing. Customer service representatives using Siebel eEnergy can see and interact with exactly what customers see on their printed statement, enabling representatives to provide more efficient and focused service to the customer. Using a number of proven integration methods, the integrated solution allows real-time access to billing information, resolution of customer billing inquiries, and metering and settlement processing, and enables the use of billing and user profiles for targeted up-sell and customer retention marketing.

"We share a number of marquee customers with Siebel Systems -- including Electricite de France, TXU, and nPower -- and since they have already selected the Siebel eBusiness Applications and SPL WorldGroup applications, we felt it was important to also offer them a proven, integrated solution, validated by Siebel Systems, that would ultimately improve the return on their technology investment," said CD Hobbs, president and chief executive officer of SPL WorldGroup. "With the CorDaptix integration to Siebel eEnergy, our joint customers can now improve the efficiency, quality and responsiveness of customer management by delivering more interactive and dynamic billing and enrollment information directly to the customer service representative's desktop."

To leverage the strengths of each application, the Siebel eEnergy-CorDaptix integration has been designed such that Siebel eEnergy is the repository for customer relationship data and CorDaptix manages the billing information. Siebel Systems' and SPL's rich integration architectures provide the flexibility and assurance of seamless interoperability through the use of XML as the standard language between the two applications. The main data keys are synchronized, allowing a minimalist approach to the amount of data replication required to support the business operation.

"Our customers are increasingly choosing SPL WorldGroup as their customer management solution," said Jim McCray, general manager of Siebel eEnergy at Siebel Systems. "The integration of Siebel eEnergy with SPL's CorDaptix improves the delivery of enrollment and billing-related customer management by enabling bill adjustments, customer sign-up and enrollment, service requests, and invoice management. Equipped with that concentration of account information, the call center representative has the power to deliver sharper, more efficient, and better-focused customer service, allowing companies to reduce costs and effectively build dynamic customer relationships."

The Siebel Validation Program applies rigorous technical scrutiny to evaluate the integration of third-party solutions with Siebel eBusiness Applications. Integrations that meet the strict standards of Siebel Systems' testing criteria are validated and documented by the Siebel Alliance Program. The validated connector for this joint solution is available immediately for license from SPL WorldGroup.

About SPL WorldGroup

Established in 1994, SPL WorldGroup is a leading provider of best-of-breed customer management solutions to the energy and service-related industries in regulated and competitive markets worldwide. With a 100% record of successful implementations, SPL continues to demonstrate its place as the market leader in providing flexible and scalable customer management solutions that evolve with client requirements and enable unrivaled business responsiveness. SPL employs over 600 professionals in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific and has delivered its customer management products to more than 50 energy, water and waste management customers worldwide.

Visit SPL WorldGroup at www.splwg.com or call 973/539-6268 (New Jersey), 415/541-9462 (San Francisco), or within the U.S. and Canada, 800/275-4775.

(c) 2001 SPL WorldGroup Inc. All Rights Reserved. SPL WorldGroup, SPL and CorDaptix are trademarks owned by SPL WorldGroup B.V. or its subsidiaries. SPL WorldGroup and SPL are registered as trademarks in the United States and in certain foreign jurisdictions. All other brand, product and company names herein are used for identification purposes only and are the property of their respective owners.

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.