Ariba Is Recognized Among Leading Providers in Procurement Business Process Outsourcing

Ariba(R), Inc. (Nasdaq:ARBA), the leading Spend Managementsolutions provider, today announced that it has been recognized asbeing among the leading providers in the procurement business processoutsourcing (BPO) services market by IDC, a leading provider of IT andBPO services research. In a new report titled "Vendor Needs andStrategies: Procurement BPO Competitive Landscape" (IDC #33947,September 2005), IDC evaluated 12 vendors and recognized Ariba as astrong player with a comprehensive suite of offerings that addressesall segments of the procurement BPO value chain. The company receivedparticular recognition for its capabilities in a number of areasstudied by IDC in evaluating vendors, including procurement expertise,category knowledge, shared services sourcing capabilities, and globalreach.

The report states:

-- "Ariba is playing in the BPO market on strong footing at a time when diversified IT and business services portfolios are in high demand from customers."

-- "Overall, the steps taken by Ariba in the BPO market give it an edge over other providers that have experience in other BPO functions (such as HR, IT, and F&A), but are new to and still building category expertise and delivery capabilities (e.g., shared services sourcing) relevant to value creation in procurement outsourcing."

-- "As a procurement services provider, Ariba offers a comprehensive procurement outsourcing portfolio."

Ariba's managed procurement services help companies reduce totalspending in non-core spend categories and processes. Ariba manages anumber of non-core categories on behalf of its customers, includingoffice supplies, global travel, industrial MRO and services, HR andbenefits, marketing and advertising, printing services, facilitiesmanagement, IT hardware and software, temporary labor, leasing,telecom and network services, business and professional services,capital equipment and supplies, utilities, energy and environmentalhealth services, transportation and logistics, and insurance. In manycompanies, these spend categories can represent as much as 50-60percent of total selling, general and administrative expenses.

"Most companies recognize the value of spend management, but fewhave the resources, expertise or infrastructure to effectively managespend across all categories and processes," said Shahriar Broumand,vice president and general manager, Ariba Managed Services. "Ascompanies consider outsourcing as an option, they see advantages inpartnering with a procurement BPO provider whose core competency isspend management. With Ariba, companies can leverage a total solutionconsisting of deep spend category knowledge, procurement processexpertise, global shared service capabilities, and a best-in-classtechnology platform to significantly reduce their total spend innon-core categories."

More than 20 companies currently work with Ariba to help themmanage their non-core spend categories and processes.

About Ariba, Inc.

Ariba, Inc. is the leading provider of Spend Management solutionsto help companies realize rapid and sustainable bottom line results.Successful companies around the world in every industry use AribaSpend Management software and services. Ariba can be contacted in theU.S. at 650-390-1000 or at www.ariba.com.

Copyright (C) 1996 - 2005 Ariba, Inc.

Ariba and the Ariba logo are registered trademarks of Ariba, Inc.Ariba Spend Management, Ariba Spend Management. Find it. Get it. Keepit., Ariba. This is Spend Management, Ariba Solutions Delivery, AribaAnalysis, Ariba Buyer, Ariba Category Management, Ariba CategoryProcurement, Ariba Contract Compliance, Ariba Contracts, AribaContract Management, Ariba Contract Workbench, Ariba Data Enrichment,Ariba eForms, Ariba Sourcing, Ariba Invoice, Ariba Travel & Expense,Ariba Workforce, Ariba Supplier Network, Ariba Supplier PerformanceManagement, Ariba PunchOut, Ariba QuickSource, PO-Flip, AribaSettlement and Ariba Spend Management Knowledge Base are trademarks orservice marks of Ariba, Inc. Ariba Proprietary and Confidential. Allrights reserved. Patents pending. All other trademarks are property oftheir respective owners.

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Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities LitigationReform Act 1995: Information and announcements in this release involveAriba's expectations, beliefs, hopes, plans, intentions or strategiesregarding the future and are forward-looking statements that involverisks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements included inthis release are based upon information available to Ariba as of thedate of the release, and we assume no obligation to update any suchforward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees offuture performance and actual results could differ materially from ourcurrent expectations. Factors that could cause or contribute toAriba's operating and financial results to differ materially from itscurrent expectations include, but are not limited to: delays indevelopment or shipment of new versions of Ariba's products andservices; lack of market acceptance of Ariba's existing or futureproducts or services; inability to continue to develop competitive newproducts and services on a timely basis; introduction of new productsor services by major competitors; the ability to attract and retainqualified employees; difficulties in assimilating acquired companies;long and unpredictable sales cycles and the deferrals of anticipatedorders; declining economic conditions; inability to control costs;changes in the company's pricing or compensation policies; significantfluctuations in our stock price; the outcome of and costs associatedwith pending or potential future regulatory or legal proceedings; theimpact of our acquisitions, including the disruption or loss ofcustomer, business partner, supplier or employee relationships; andthe level of costs and expenses incurred by Ariba as a result of suchtransactions. For example, Ariba recently settled patent infringementfiled against it by ePlus, Inc. for $37.0 million and incurredsignificant related legal expenses. Factors and risks associated withits business, including a number of the factors and risks describedabove, are discussed in Ariba's Form 10-K filed December 14, 2004, andin its Form 10-Q filed August 9, 2005.