WESTBORO, Mass., Sept. 29, 2004 -- Ascential Software Corporation (Nasdaq: ASCL), the enterprise data integration leader, today announced that Jennie-O Turkey Store, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL), is using the Ascential Enterprise Integration Suite(TM) to build a Corporate Information Factory. Ascential Software is helping Jennie-O Turkey Store consolidate business data to gain a single, accurate view of operations, customers and its supply chain in the wake of a recent merger.

In 2001, parent company Hormel Foods united Jennie-O Foods with The Turkey Store Company. As a result of the merger, the new entity, Jennie-O Turkey Store, was faced with consolidating two sets of corporate data from sales, operations, supply chain and general ledger functions. Ascential Software has enabled Jennie-O Turkey Store to build a Corporate Information Factory that eliminates data redundancies and inconsistencies created by maintaining these multiple applications.

"Jennie-O Turkey Store is very customer focused and service-oriented," said Peggy Hehr, senior data and integration analyst at Jennie-O Turkey Store. "It was important for us to have software that could get the job done, handling multiple data sources, including the Web, and to give our users the ability to drill down to see what calculations were performed on the data. We were impressed with the company's commitment to customer service that matches Jennie-O Turkey Store's philosophy."

As part of its Corporate Information Factory, Jennie-O Turkey Store is using the Ascential Enterprise Integration Suite to: analyze legacy systems and profile source data; cleanse, match and de-duplicate incoming data from suppliers, customers and internal systems; and manage meta data across the enterprise. In addition, Ascential Software's solutions provide unlimited scalability to easily manage the massive variety and velocity of new corporate data as Jennie-O Turkey Store continues to grow.

"Jennie-O Turkey Store's Corporate Information Factory is a great example of how IT systems should support and enhance the process of merging two companies," said Mark Register, chief marketing officer and vice president, marketing, industry solutions and global alliances at Ascential Software. "The management team at Jennie-O Turkey Store had the foresight to systematically map out how they would integrate the two businesses, and the importance of data integration in that process. The end result is a quicker, smoother merger with a solid IT foundation that will continue to provide the basis for clear, informed decision-making as the new company grows."

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 Jennie-O Turkey Store

Jennie-O Turkey Store, based in Willmar, Minn., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) and is the largest turkey processor and marketer in the world.

Jennie-O Foods, acquired by Hormel Foods in 1986, was united with The Turkey Store Company in 2001 to create the industry-leading processor and marketer of traditional and value-added turkey products for the retail, foodservice and deli markets. Offering an array of high quality fresh, frozen, refrigerated and deli turkey products, Jennie-O Turkey Store produces more than 1,300 items that are distributed throughout the United States and 26 countries. With corporate offices in Willmar, Jennie-O Turkey Store currently employs 7,000 people throughout the United States.

About Ascential Software

Ascential Software Corporation (Nasdaq: ASCL) is the leader in enterprise data integration. Customers and partners worldwide recognize us as the premier provider of comprehensive, end-to-end solutions that help businesses confidently transform data into accurate, reliable and complete business information. Our integrated software suite combines on-demand data integration with industry expertise, methodologies and customer dedication to provide value by improving operational performance and decision-making across every critical business dimension.

We are committed to providing superior software and services for more than 3,000 customers and partners globally across such industries as financial services and banking, telecommunications, healthcare, insurance, consumer packaged goods, retail, and government. Ascential Software is headquartered in Westboro, Mass. For more information call 1-800-966-9875 (508-366-3888 if calling from outside the U.S. or Canada) or visit the Ascential Software Web site 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; the ability of Ascential Software's products to streamline operations, improve customer support, expedite business transactions, and make better tactical and strategic decisions on the basis of the best available information; reduction of cost of ownership; and increased return on IT investment. 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.

Ascential 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.ascential.com