ASCL Ascential Software - Common Stock (MM)

Scripps Health Selects Ascential Software to Power Clinical Data Warehouse Health Care Network Leverages Ascential Enterprise Integration Suite(TM) to Bring Together Information and Improve Decision-making WESTBORO, Mass., March 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ascential Software Corporation (NASDAQ:ASCL), the enterprise data integration leader, today announced that Scripps Health, a not-for-profit, San Diego-based healthcare system, has selected the Ascential Enterprise Integration Suite(TM) as a core component of its clinical data warehouse. Scripps has changed the way it makes health care decisions by leveraging more complete, timely clinical information. The Ascential Enterprise Integration Suite is a critical enabler of this new business initiative because it breaks down organizational information silos and brings together clinical and financial patient information in a common repository. Variations in clinical treatment can dramatically affect the quality of patient care and have a fiscal impact on hospitals. With the Ascential Enterprise Integration Suite, the only end-to-end platform solution for enterprise data integration, Scripps will be able to access both clinical information, such as patient admissions and visits, lab results, procedures and discharges, as well as financial information, including eligibility, and claims and remittances data, to better understand how healthcare procedures can influence outcomes and affect operational performance. "Ascential Software is a strategic partner that helps us to understand the total picture -- clinically and from a business standpoint -- by harvesting information trapped in silo legacy systems," said Jean Balgrosky, CIO of Scripps. "One of the things that impresses us about the Ascential Software solution is functionality that goes beyond data extraction and transformation by also providing statistically powerful ways for data cleansing and matching. Ascential Software enables us to build a process improvement engine for doctors and nurses -- creating a clinical and business intelligence system." The enterprise data warehouse, which is being developed by Hewlett-Packard (HP), will provide a single, clinical archive that Scripps will use to perform data analysis across a broad spectrum of data derived from multiple systems, including electronic medical records and cost accounting systems. Scripps also tapped HP expertise to lead the product evaluation process, selecting Ascential Software as the best-of-breed data integration software. Precision BI, Scripps' standard for business intelligence analytics, will be used as the analytical and reporting tool for the clinical warehouse. One critical selection criterion for Scripps was Ascential Software's ability to support an extensible data model. Scripps had niche tools that allowed one-to-one replication of data from legacy systems. However, the healthcare network plans to eventually bring in all its major applications into the data warehouse project so it was important to have a technology with flexibility and scalability to handle diverse, growing volumes of healthcare information, resulting from data-intensive initiatives, most notably HIPAA and the electronic medical record. Another differentiator is Ascential Software's proven ability to address the unique connectivity requirements to legacy systems. By leveraging Ascential Software solutions, Scripps will be able to extract data from some of its multiple legacy systems, load it into the new data warehouse and over time, discontinue use of the outdated applications and reduce costly maintenance charges. "Healthcare organizations collect massive volumes of data electronically, but this information is typically trapped in numerous systems and databases," said Helen Gurevich, director of healthcare solutions at Ascential Software. "Scripps Health's initiative to unlock the tremendous clinical and business value by breaking down the data stovepipes and seeing data in new ways to improve decision-making make it a true innovator among healthcare providers." 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, any-to-any data source and application connectivity, and delivers on-demand data integration seamlessly within an enterprise's service-oriented architecture. About Scripps Health Founded in 1924 by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps, Scripps Health is celebrating 80 years as a non-profit, San Diego-based health care system. Scripps treats 478,000 patients annually through the dedication of more than 2,600 affiliated physicians and 10,500 employees spread across five acute care campuses, home health care services, and an ambulatory care network of clinics, physicians' offices and outpatient centers. Recognized as a world leader in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, Scripps is in the forefront of prevention, medical innovation, clinical research and technology. Recent accolades include: Best Hospital in San Diego, San Diego Union-Tribune Readers' Poll, (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004); 100 Most Wired Health Systems, 2004, Hospitals & Health Networks; Best Employer for Employees Over 50, AARP, 2004; Best Local Large Employer, 2004, SHRM, San Diego. More information can be found at http://www.scripps.org/. For media inquiries, contact Don Stanziano at 858-678-7486. About Ascential Software Ascential Software Corporation (NASDAQ:ASCL) is the leader in enterprise data integration. Customers and partners worldwide use the Ascential Enterprise Integration Suite(TM) to confidently transform data into accurate, reliable and complete business information to improve operational performance and decision-making across every critical business dimension. Our comprehensive end-to-end solutions provide on demand data integration complemented by our professional services, industry expertise, and methodologies. Ascential Software is headquartered in Westboro, Mass., and has more than 3,000 customers and partners globally across such industries as financial services and banking, insurance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, consumer packaged goods, telecommunications and government. For more information call 1-800-966-9875 (508-366-3888 if calling from outside the US or Canada) or visit the Ascential Software website at http://www.ascential.com/. Media and industry analysts, contact Chas Kielt, director of media and analyst relations, at 1-508-599-7256 or . 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 support an extensible data model so an organization can maintain the same data model even as data volumes greatly expand; the ability of Ascential Software's products to handle massive, growing volumes of healthcare information, resulting from data-intensive initiatives, most notably HIPAA and electronic medical records; 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; and improvements in operational performance and decision-making. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements: the ability of the company 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 the company; dependence on international operations; global and geopolitical instability; compliance costs associated with regulations to which the company is subject, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and the impact of such regulations; and difficulties that the company 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 Annual Report on Form 10-K. 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. Partnerships described herein shall be deemed to be strategic alliances only, and shall not imply the power of either partner to bind the other partner or to incur obligations on behalf of the other partner. All rights reserved. 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. DATASOURCE: Ascential Software Corporation CONTACT: Chas Kielt of Ascential Software Corporation, +1-508-599-7256, ; or Mary Keith of Porter Novelli, +1-617-897-8281, Web site: http://www.ascentialsoftware.com/ http://www.scripps.org/

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