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MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA; September 18, 2000 —
ePeople™ (www.epeople.com), the largest and most comprehensive online marketplace for IT services and support, today announced
an alliance with IT&T, India's leading etransition™ company, and FirstRing Inc., an e-commerce customer care provider, to further
expand ePeople's worldwide network of more than 17,000 certified and rated service providers in more than 100 countries. By partnering
with these companies, ePeople recognizes India's increasing role as a worldwide leader in providing Internet-enabled services that are
backed by a highly trained IT work force and cost efficient infrastructure.
IT&T provides a broad knowledge base of technical engineers who are certified to industry standards and possess a diverse skill set,
including expertise in Unix, Windows NT/2000, networking and Internet connectivity. Having been successful in recruiting, training and
retaining technical engineers in India's highly competitive environment, IT&T is poised for future growth in other regions of the world.
By joining the ePeople marketplace, IT&T expands its reach in the IT services community by providing high quality service to ePeople's
growing customer base of more than 116,000 registered IT buyers. ePeople's unrivaled marketplace service delivery tools will be augmented
by IT&T's proven helpdesk, desktop administration and etransition management services that have provided optimal, cost effective solutions
to IT&T's worldwide client base over the last decade. IT&T has consistently delivered high quality technical expertise to its blue chip
client roster, which includes Coca Cola, DSP Merrill Lynch, Citibank, Hotel Grand Hyatt, Volvo and Bank of India.
"This partnership is an exciting opportunity for IT&T, illustrating our continued growth and recognition in the technical support industry,"
said Hemant Kohli, chief executive officer of IT&T. "With our firmly established presence in India, ePeople's online marketplace further
expands the opportunity for our engineers to deliver professional technical support anywhere in the world."
FirstRing Expands ePeople's Worldwide Marketplace
With headquarters in the United States and a 24x7 support center in Bangalore, India, FirstRing's technical support engineers are trained
in a variety of technologies and products including Windows, Linux, Java, HTML and certified by leading vendors such as Microsoft, Intel
and Novel. With lower workforce churn in India, FirstRing's highly trained and experienced IT veterans deliver top-ranked customer service
at a significantly lower cost than internal call centers or major domestic outsourcers. FirstRing's state-of-the-art customer care technology
systems will be backed by ePeople's industry leading IT infrastructure.
"ePeople's Web-integrated support solution clearly facilitates FirstRing's mission to deliver the highest quality e-commerce customer service,"
said Guru Amrit Singh Khalsa, co-founder and chief operating officer. "ePeople's online marketplace provides a revolutionary method for
outsourced IT support, and we are thrilled to join the marketplace and share our expertise with the world."
"Outsourcing IT needs has historically been a supplier-driven business plagued by resource shortages," said Anthony Lye, president and chief
executive officer of ePeople. "ePeople's marketplace enables corporate customers to gain more control and flexibility of their outsourcing by
offering them a variety of service providers with diverse IT aptitude and business prowess. IT&T and FirstRing bring a rich resource to the
ePeople marketplace — India's highly educated and skilled technicians rivaling those of any country in the world."
About IT&T Limited
IT&T Limited (www.ittindia.com) is India's leading etransition company. IT&T operates out of 60 locations and has over 350 employees. IT&T
is a leading provider of outsourced live, voice and Web-based customer interaction solutions that bring live human interaction and collaboration
to Web experiences, facilitating closer relationships with customers, prospects and partners and better customer service online. IT&T delivers
value to its customers by linking information technology to business parameters such as productivity, quality, cost and time. The technical
expertise, knowledge base and best practices developed by leveraging years of experience make IT&T the preferred information technology
service partner for an organization.
About FirstRing
Based in Sterling, Virgina with a support center in Bangalore, India, FirstRing, Inc. (www.firstring.com) is leading the trend to bring
together the expanding capabilities of telecommunication and Internet technologies, the new low-cost, highly educated, global workforce
and the enormous call center and e-commerce customer care service markets. FirstRing will become a leading interactive call center and
e-commerce customer care provider, by providing high quality service at a dramatically lower cost.
About ePeople
ePeople, founded in 1997, is the leading provider of knowledge and expertise management solutions for resolving business-critical
situations throughout the enterprise. ePeople Teamwork focuses on Customer Support, Team Selling, Professional Services and
Research & Development organizations. Customers of ePeople include Oracle Corp, Cognos, InstallShield, Openwave Systems, Inc.,
Adobe Systems, Inc., Production Access, OpSource Inc., and Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA). Headquartered in
Mountain View, Calif., ePeople is privately held. Investors include Redpoint Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Integral Capital Partners,
Bedrock Capital, Brentwood Venture Capital, and CNET. More information on ePeople is available
at www.epeople.com.
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ePeople and the ePeople logo are trademarks of ePeople, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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