Sterling Commerce's Jeanne Baker Re-Elected To Board Of Directors For BPMI.org; Baker's Involvement Signifies Sterling's Ongoing Commitment to Open Standards.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 27, 2003

Jeanne Baker, director of product strategy for Sterling Commerce, has been re- elected to the board of directors of the international nonprofit organization Business Process Management Initiative (BPMI.org). Baker was first elected to the Board in July 2001.

BPMI.org has developed the Business Process Modeling Language (BPML), a technological language for the modeling of business processes, similar to the way that XML is the meta-language for the modeling of business data. BPML enables the standards-based management of e-business processes with forthcoming business process management systems.

Since becoming a board member, Baker has worked to raise the industry's awareness of business process management (BPM), finalize much-needed standards for BPM, initiate industry meetings to advance the standard, and encouraged important standards bodies take notice of the emerging emphasis on business process integration.

"Over the last two year's, BPMI has literally changed the way the industry thinks about business process management," Baker said. "Going forward, we'll work to encourage and enable adoption of BPML among vendors and in applications launched in our end-user community."

Sterling Commerce supports open standards like BPML by staying active in industry groups that are defining the standards. In addition to BPMI.org, Sterling is represented on a number of technology committees for RosettaNet, ebXML, Web Services Interoperability Organization (WSIO), and more.

"We've long been a supporter of open standards because we think it is the right strategy for our customers," said Sam Starr, president and chief executive officer, Sterling Commerce. "Jeanne's leadership on the BPMI.org is not only helping our own customers stay in touch with the latest development in business process management, but advancing the entire industry to a new level. BPML not only decreases the complexity of interoperability but serves as a foundation for component-based architecture with true functional scalability."

Sterling Commerce, a wholly owned subsidiary of SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC) is one of the world's largest providers of business integration solutions. For Global 5000 companies and their customers, suppliers and partners, Sterling Commerce software and services help maximize business performance and improve business metrics through integration of applications, external partner systems and people. With more than 25 years of experience serving more than 30,000 customers in a vast range of industries, Sterling Commerce is a recognized pioneer in electronic commerce through its longstanding expertise in EDI. Today, as customers explore new ways to improve business performance via the Internet, Sterling Commerce continues to innovate its software and services to further the global adoption of e-commerce while offering its customers strategic solutions that leverage existing technology. For more information, visit www.sterlingcommerce.com.

SBC Communications Inc. (www.sbc.com) is one of the world's leading data, voice and Internet services providers. Through its world-class networks, SBC companies provide a full range of voice, data, networking and e-business services, as well as directory advertising and publishing. A Fortune 30 company, America's leading provider of high- speed DSL Internet Access services, and one of the nation's leading Internet Service Providers, SBC companies currently serve 58 million access lines nationwide. In addition, SBC companies own 60 percent of America's second-largest wireless company, Cingular Wireless, which serves more than 22 million wireless customers. Internationally, SBC companies have telecommunications investments in 25 countries.

SOURCE: Sterling Commerce