WESTBORO, Mass., June 28, 2004 -- Ascential Software Corporation (Nasdaq: ASCL), the enterprise data integration leader, is helping more than 150 of the leading global retailers improve and enhance their operational performance, including Eroski and The Tengelmann Group subsidiaries Plus, Kaiser's Tengelmann, and Kaiser's Drugstore. Ascential Software is playing a critical role in helping each company integrate enterprise data to improve business operations, streamline the supply chain, enhance in-store productivity, and gain a more accurate view of customer information.

"The retail sector operates on razor-thin margins in a fiercely competitive environment. The most successful retailers understand the importance of accurate, reliable data in developing successful promotional and marketing programs, understanding customers and ensuring an efficient supply chain," said Thracy Varvoglis, executive director of industry solutions at Ascential Software. "Leading retailers are investing in strategic applications to improve their overall efficiencies and competitiveness in an environment that continues to be challenging. These applications demand the kind of enterprise data integration that only Ascential Software can deliver."

Eroski and The Tengelmann Group required a scalable data integration platform to help them better understand customer data generated from multiple sources in the enterprise and then leverage the information in new and consolidated applications. In addition to improving supply chain visibility and managing point-of-sale data, other top initiatives that retailers are undertaking include customer relationship management and master data management, in part to prepare for data synchronization activities like UCCnet and RFID.

Customer Overviews

Eroski

Eroski, one of Spain's largest retail chains with more than 1,500 stores mainly in the hypermarket and supermarket sectors, selected Ascential DataStage(TM) TX. Faced with increasing complexity of applications and growing demand for interfaces, Eroski was looking to streamline the way they integrated their IT portfolio. "We selected Ascential DataStage TX because of its well-proven ability to handle complex data types and transformations," commented Jesus Miqaur, IT director at Eroski. "Over the next two years, we intend to expand our use of Ascential Software's technology to provide a complete integration environment for our business."

The Tengelmann Group

The Tengelmann Group is one of the world's leading retail chains, with annual revenues in excess of $20 billion and an international presence. "Ascential is helping The Tengelmann Group become a 'right time' retail enterprise, accelerating the movement of point-of-sale data for 4,500 supermarkets, discount stores and drug stores, and integrating real-time data from 1,000 suppliers," commented Frank Jelinek, technical communications manager for Kaiser's Tengelmann. "We selected Ascential Software because we can create reusable integration components that enable us to harmonize a very diverse business and technical landscape quickly. Ascential Software's technology has demonstrated itself expert at handling point-of-sale and EDI data in multiple formats from multiple sources enabling us to cut time from critical replenishment and supply chain processes."

Many of the world's leading retailers rely on Ascential Software for powerful data integration solutions and services to help overcome the specific business challenges and issues they face today, including pricing and promotion optimization; achieving a single view of customers, suppliers and products; shortening the replenishment cycle through improved store data integration; managing multiple trading relationships with suppliers over different industry standards; implementing radio frequency identification to optimize inventory; and implementing UCCnet requirements with key CPG suppliers. The Ascential Enterprise Integration Suite(TM) enables retailers to overcome these challenges and move to real-time solutions. Ascential Software's global retail customers include:

    -- AB Lindex
    -- Allders Department Stores
    -- Amazon.com
    -- BizRate.com
    -- BJ's Wholesale
    -- Chevy's Restaurant
    -- Cole National
    -- CompUSA
    -- dm-Filiadata
    -- Dunnes Stores
    -- Eroski
    -- Food Lion
    -- Galeries Lafayette
    -- Home Depot
    -- Homebase
    -- Jenny Craig
    -- Kingfisher, Plc.
    -- Pier 1 Imports
    -- Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd
    -- Saks Fifth Avenue
    -- Starbucks Coffee
    -- The Tengelmann Group, including Plus, 
Kaiser's Tengelmann, and Kaiser's
       Drugstore
    -- VWR International
    -- Woolworths

The Ascential Enterprise Integration Suite is a comprehensive data integration solution that profiles, cleanses, and transforms data from virtually any application or system regardless of data volume or latency. Ascential Software's integrated offering is designed to help companies streamline operations, improve customer support, expedite business transactions, and make better tactical and strategic decisions on the basis of the best available information. The suite provides unlimited scalability through parallel processing, complete meta data management, and any-to-any data source and application connectivity, and delivers on-demand data integration seamlessly within an enterprise's service-oriented architecture.

About Ascential Software

Ascential Software Corporation (Nasdaq: ASCL) is the leader in enterprise data integration. Customers and partners worldwide use the Ascential Enterprise Integration Suite(TM) to confidently transform data into accurate, reliable and complete business information to improve operational performance and decision-making across every critical business dimension. Our comprehensive end-to-end solutions provide on demand data integration complemented by our professional services, industry expertise, and methodologies.

Ascential Software is headquartered in Westboro, Mass., and has more than 3,000 customers and partners globally across such industries as financial services and banking, insurance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, consumer packaged goods, telecommunications and government. For more information call 1-800-966-9875 (or 1-508-366-3888 from outside the U.S. or Canada) or visit the Ascential Software website at http://www.ascential.com.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events, and these statements are subject to important factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this release address a variety of subjects including, for example, the functionality, characteristics, quality and performance capabilities of Ascential Software's products and technology; results achievable and benefits attainable through deployment of Ascential Software's products and provision of services; Ascential's expanding presence in retail markets; improvements in operational performance; Ascential's role in improving business operations, streamlining supply chains, enhancing productivity, and gaining a more accurate view of information; attributes and trends within the retail sector; investments by retailers; trends in data synchronization activities; and expansion of use of Ascential's products. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements: the ability of Ascential Software to expand its market share; growth rates for the enterprise data integration software market; general business conditions in the software industry, the technology sector, and in the domestic and international economies; rapid technological change in the markets served by Ascential Software; dependence on international operations; global and geopolitical instability; and difficulties that Ascential Software may experience integrating technologies, operations and personnel of completed or future acquisitions. For a detailed discussion of these and other cautionary statements, please refer to the filings made by Ascential Software with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, the most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Ascential Software disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements made herein to reflect any change in Ascential Software's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which such statements are based. Ascential Software is not responsible for statements attributed to third parties within this release or in any materials referenced herein. Partnerships described herein shall be deemed to be strategic alliances only, and shall not imply the power of either partner to bind the other partner or to incur obligations on behalf of the other partner.

Ascential, Ascential DataStage, DataStage, and Ascential Enterprise Integration Suite are trademarks of Ascential Software Corporation or its affiliates and may be registered in the United States or other jurisdictions. Other marks are the property of the owners of those marks.

SOURCE Ascential Software Corporation

Web Site: http://www.ascentialsoftware.com