Sagent Finds Suite Spot in Oracle Data Mart Deal

Oracle Adopts Key Sagent Technology, Inc. for New Family of Integrated Data Mart Solutions

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 31, 1997 -- Sagent Technology, Inc. announced today that its data movement functionality has been chosen to play a key role in Oracle's new family of Data Mart Suites, also announced today. Oracle's licensing of Sagent's data movement functionality, part of a worldwide agreement between the two companies, strongly positions Sagent in the rapidly growing market for decision support products and confirms the strengths of the company's technological underpinnings.

Sagent's data movement functionality provides data mart designers with the critical tools needed to efficiently extract data from live production databases or data warehouses, massage the data to make it more useful for decision makers and load it into data marts. The key to the powerful data movement capabilities Sagent is delivering to Oracle is its unique Data Flow Technology. Sagent's Data Flow Technology lets developers perform data movement functions easily through a unique graphical interface by linking icons to create Data Flow plans for extracting data from various sources, transforming it and delivering it to data marts.

"The partnership with Oracle will allow us to maintain and strengthen our technology leadership position in the data movement arena while continuing to focus resources on improving and increasing the functionality in our end-user information access products," said Ken Gardner, president, CEO and cofounder of Sagent Technology, Inc ."Oracle's endorsement and adoption of our data movement functionality provides tight integration of Sagent's data movement functionality in to Oracle's Data Mart Suite."

In addition to licensing Sagent's data movement functionality -called extraction, transformation and transportation (ETT) by Oracle, and used as its Data Mart Builder-the agreement involves the porting of this capability to popular UNIX platforms (IBM AIX, HP-UX and Sun Solaris) for use in future Oracle Data Mart Suite products as well as by Sagent. The agreement will also generate localized versions of the data movement functionality in French, Spanish and German for use by both companies.

"Our partnership with Sagent allows Oracle to offer its customers a family of tailored, turn-key data mart solutions that bring best-of-breed technologies together in one box," said Jerry Held, senior vice president of Oracle Server Technologies. "We chose Sagent because they have created the most intuitive and well-engineered data mart technology available today, technology we are pleased to be able to offer our customers."

Through the sales of Oracle Data Mart Suites, Sagent anticipates a significant installed base of users will gain experience with the Sagent Data Flow Technology and the easy access to powerful functionality it offers. As a result, Sagent sees strong demand ahead for the company's own current and future front-end tools, including the collaborative Sagent Information Studio, which extend the benefits of Data Flow Technology directly to users' desktops.

In addition, Sagent expects the UNIX porting and localization made possible by the agreement -- not to mention the increased name recognition -- to catapult the acceptance of its own Sagent Data Mart Solution products, especially as the company initiates its marketing thrust into Japan and Western Europe later this year.

According to a 1996 Robertson Stephens & Co. report, data marts are expected to account for 50 to 75 percent of the $15 billion decision support systems market over the next 5 years. Additionally, a 1996 Sentry Research report, "Data Warehousing Directions," showed that a single-vendor solution was preferred by 53 percent of respondents.

The Oracle data mart family consists of market-specific, product suites that let line-of-business users -- such as financial, sales and marketing departments -- analyze subject-oriented data and make more informed business decisions. The Oracle Data Mart Suites provide integrated tools companies can use to design, build, deploy, manage and use data marts more effectively.

About Oracle Corporation

Oracle Corp. Is the world's leading supplier of software for information management, and the world's second largest software company. With annual revenues of more than $5.2 billion, the company offers its database, tools and applications products, along with related consulting, education and support services, in more than 90 countries around the world.

About Sagent Technology, Inc.

Sagent Technology was founded in June, 1995 to bring business information closer to decision-makers and make it quicker and easier to use and share. Sagent Technology provides an integrated set of tools for populating data marts - or functional data warehouses - and presenting data to end-users in meaningful, business-appropriate ways. The company was co-founded by Ken Gardner and John Zicker, both formerly with ReportSmith, Inc., and its marketing efforts are headed by Perry Mizota, formerly vice president of marketing at Business Objects, Inc. Sagent is funded by Crosspoint Venture Partners, El Dorado Ventures, Greylock Limited Partnerships and U.S. Venture Partners.

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