Charlotte, N.C., January 20, 2004 - Venetica, the leading provider of enterprise content integration (ECI) software, today announced that the company has been recognized for its entrepreneurial success, innovation and growth as the winner of the 2004 Trailblazer Award, given last week by the Business Innovations and Growth (BIG) Council in Charlotte, North Carolina. The annual Trailblazer Award honors entrepreneurial companies that have become leaders in their fields of endeavor, have demonstrated innovation and have overcome obstacles to succeed.

Venetica was founded in 1993 as a service provider specializing in content management and workflow solutions. In 1998, the company realized its customers were struggling to connect key applications with content scattered among various systems throughout the enterprise. In response, the company introduced VeniceBridge® in 2000 to help organizations simplify business critical initiatives by making multiple content sources act as one unified system. Today, VeniceBridge – now in Version 5.0 – is the leading ECI solution for global customers and leading partners throughout North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region.

“ Venetica emerged as the clear winner of the Trailblazer Award for several reasons,” said Terry Thorson, Director of the BIG Council. “First, they built a solid business from the ground up entirely through cash flow and profitability; second, they took a risk to transition from a services model to a software-focused model to fill a need in the marketplace; and third, they pioneered and now lead an important new space. Innovation, risk and growth – that’s what the Trailblazer Award is all about.”

To address the growing ECI opportunity and fuel additional growth, the company raised $7M in its first round of venture capital in March of 2003 from top-tier technology investors Charles River Ventures and General Catalyst Partners. The investment is being used to fund growth in sales and marketing, as well as engineering and services.

“ I was so pleased to accept this award on behalf of our employees,” said Stuart Levinson, president and CEO, Venetica. “This is such an awesome team. They’re passionate about our work, our customers and ultimately our success. They really deserve this special recognition. ”

About Venetica Venetica is the leading provider of enterprise content integration (ECI) software. The company's flagship product, VeniceBridge®, enables multiple, disparate content repositories to work as a single unified system. By providing a real-time, virtual interface to enterprise content and business process, Venetica helps companies reduce the cost and complexity of business critical initiatives such as improving customer service, complying with regulations and consolidating operations following a merger. Venetica's innovative, standards-based solutions are used by more than 50 customers worldwide. Venetica partners with leading software vendors and system integrators in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region to deliver solutions around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.venetica.com.