Ariba Redefines Enterprise Software

Company helps businesses become more connected, efficient and informed with latest release of collaborative business commerce platform

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Enterprise software is dead. At least enterprise software as it is traditionally known. In today’s business world, it’s all about being connected, efficient and informed. And Ariba, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARBA), the leading provider of collaborative business commerce solutions, has made it easier than ever for companies to do this with the release of Ariba 10S2, the technology underlying the Ariba^® Commerce Cloud, its market-leading platform for collaborative business commerce.

“In today’s uncertain business environment, flexibility is critical to success”

“Companies can no longer focus exclusively on internal processes and information. Instead, they must reach beyond their four walls to collaborate with key partners and tap intelligence and best practices that enable them to do things faster and better,” said Greg Spray, Senior Vice President, Solutions Management, Ariba. “Ariba 10S2 provides the technology, capabilities and community needed to do this, all through a single, easy-to-access interface.”

Combining best-in-class SaaS technology, market intelligence and network services in a single, web-based solution, Ariba 10S2 delivers a comprehensive set of tools that companies of all sizes, across industries can use to drive a more collaborative and efficient commerce process.

“In today’s uncertain business environment, flexibility is critical to success,” said Todd Kimpton, AVP Corporate Procurement, JM Family Enterprises. “With Ariba 10S2, we have access to a powerful set of tools that we can tap to efficiently and effectively manage our operations and supplier relationships and improve our productivity as conditions evolve and change.”

Collaboration

Throughout the global recession, companies cut costs and learned to do more with less. But as economic conditions improve and organizations begin to prepare for growth, they must look outside and learn to manage the interconnected web of relationships on which their businesses now depend.

Ariba 10S2 enables companies to do this through enhanced functionality designed to fuel greater collaboration both internally and externally, including:

Trading Partner Enablement - With Ariba 10S2, buyers and sellers can connect and transact business more efficiently and effectively than ever before. Through robust trading partner enablement capabilities, buyers can bring suppliers on board in minutes, not months. And sellers can forge new business relationships and better-manage existing ones to boost revenues.

Collaborative Requisitioning - Companies often collaborate with suppliers on services, but don’t recognize the importance of doing so on goods, leaving many purchases outside their spend management system. With Ariba 10S2, companies can requisition items across spend categories, improving both collaboration and spend coverage.

Efficiency

The key to extending and improving collaboration lies in open systems that can be easily shared by everyone that participates in the commerce process – from internal stakeholders and trading partners to customers and banks. Ariba 10S2 enables companies to accelerate efficient commerce processes through:

Enhanced Integration Options - With Ariba 10S2, companies can improve business process automation and accelerate adoption and results through enhanced integration options designed to quickly and easily connect ERP and other third-party systems used to drive commerce. Among the options available:

• Seamless integration of Ariba Contract Management^™ to third-party systems, including CRM
• Support for SAP Netweaver PI 7.1, Oracle Fusion Middleware

Self-Configuration Tools - In today’s agile business world, companies must be able to respond quickly to changing market conditions. And their systems need to adapt with them. Through new catalog updating and validation tools and configurable approval rules embedded in Ariba 10S2, companies can make changes to their systems as business needs dictate.

Intelligence

In the past, companies relied on the knowledge within their organizations to make business decisions. Today, they must go a step further and access the insights and best practices developed through networks. Ariba 10S2 provides companies with ready access to community-based intelligence which they can leverage to ensure they are doing business with the best trading partners, maximizing cash and getting the best value. Among the features designed to help them do this:

Supplier Enrichment - With Ariba 10S2, companies can gain a deeper view into the operational and financial health of their key trading partners through enhanced supplier enrichment features, including:

• Expanded supplier parentage levels
• Additional general supplier details such as Federal and National Tax IDs, ISO 9000 and legal status
• More detailed financial information such as bankruptcy, corporate net worth, and the presence of liens, suits, and judgments

Supplier Risk Reporting - To help companies assess and better manage their supply risk, Ariba 10S2 contains enhanced tools for supplier selection and risk assessment, including access to broader financial information through Dun & Bradstreet and tools to capture and archive diversity certificates and track green status.

Availability

Ariba 10S2 is available and in use today. To learn more about how your organization can leverage the platform to buy, sell and manage cash, more efficiently and effectively visit: www.ariba.com

About Ariba, Inc.

Ariba, Inc. is the leading provider of collaborative business commerce solutions. Ariba combines industry-leading technology with the world's largest web-based trading community to help companies discover, connect and collaborate with a global network of partners – all in a cloud-based environment. Using the Ariba^® Commerce Cloud, businesses of all sizes can buy, sell and manage cash more efficiently and effectively. Over 340,000 companies around the globe use the Ariba Commerce Cloud to simplify inter-enterprise commerce and enhance results. Why not join them? To get on the path to Better Commerce visit: www.ariba.com/commercecloud/

Copyright © 1996 – 2010 Ariba, Inc.

Ariba, the Ariba logo, AribaLIVE, Ariba.com, Ariba.com Network, Ariba Spend Management. Find it. Get it. Keep it. and PO-Flip are registered trademarks of Ariba, Inc. Ariba Procure-to-Pay, Ariba Buyer, Ariba eForms, Ariba PunchOut, Ariba Services Procurement, Ariba Travel and Expense, Ariba Procure-to-Order, Ariba Procurement Content, Ariba Sourcing, Ariba Savings and Pipeline Tracking, Ariba Category Management, Ariba Category Playbooks, Ariba StartSourcing, Ariba Spend Visibility, Ariba Analysis, Ariba Data Enrichment, Ariba Contract Management, Ariba Contract Compliance, Ariba Electronic Signatures, Ariba StartContracts, Ariba Invoice Management, Ariba Payment Management, Ariba Working Capital Management, Ariba Settlement, Ariba Supplier Information and Performance Management, Ariba Supplier Information Management, Ariba Discovery, Ariba Invoice Automation, Ariba PO Automation, Ariba Express Content, Ariba Ready, and Ariba LIVE are trademarks or service marks of Ariba, Inc. All other brand or product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or organizations in the United States and/or other countries.

Ariba Safe Harbor

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act 1995: Information and announcements in this release involve Ariba's expectations, beliefs, hopes, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future and are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based upon information available to Ariba as of the date of the release, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. Factors that could cause or contribute to Ariba's operating and financial results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: the impact of the credit crises on Ariba’s results of operations and financial condition; delays in development or shipment of new versions of Ariba's products and services; lack of market acceptance of Ariba's existing or future products or services; inability to continue to develop competitive new products and services on a timely basis; introduction of new products or services by major competitors; the impact of any acquisitions, including risks and uncertainties arising from the possibility that a closing may be delayed or may not occur and difficulties with the integration process or the realization of benefits of a transaction; the impact of our disposition, including the potential disruption of our ongoing business; the ability to attract and retain qualified employees; difficulties in assimilating acquired companies, long and unpredictable sales cycles and the deferrals of anticipated orders; declining economic conditions, including the impact of a recession; inability to control costs; changes in the company's pricing or compensation policies; significant fluctuations in our stock price; the outcome of and costs associated with pending or potential future regulatory or legal proceedings; the impact of our acquisitions and dispositions, including the disruption or loss of customer, business partner, supplier or employee relationships; and the level of costs and expenses incurred by Ariba as a result of such transactions. Factors and risks associated with its business, including a number of the factors and risks described above, are discussed in Ariba's Form 10-K filed with the SEC on November 23, 2010.