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Eight experts, three analysts and top management from thirty-eight sector firms examine the e-Business sector in this special 190-page e-Business issue from The Wall Street Transcript, available at (212/952-7433) or http://www.twst.com/info/info468.htm.

TWST: Within the marketing analytics itself, which companies are carving out the leadership positions?

Mr. Ekoniak: The two big public players in this space today are E.piphany (Nasdaq:EPNY) and Siebel (Nasdaq:SEBL). E.piphany started out as a pure play in this arena and has a stellar list of Fortune 500 customers. It has since expanded into the broader CRM realm.

TWST: What are the dynamics of attracting and retaining customers at this point of an E.piphany — not yet turning out earnings — versus a Siebel — which does? Is that a significant differentiator, or is it more the marketing issue of being able to get the decision maker inside the organization to look at you?

Mr. Ekoniak: Well, it does come down to marketing, because they’re both very good products. However, Siebel is going to aggressively sell against E.piphany by telling the customer that E.piphany may not be around in a couple of years. The fact is E.piphany’s balance sheet is very strong, and they have plenty of cash. While they are losing a lot of money, there is no question that they’re going to be around three or four years from now. There is a question of how big they will be three or four years from now, but that’s a different issue. They certainly have enough resources to be around. Nonetheless, customers may be a little hesitant at first. If they don’t do their homework on E.piphany, they may be hesitant to step up and buy from them. As an acquisition target, E.piphany would make sense as part of a larger organization. The question is whether players like PeopleSoft or SAP want to make an acquisition in this environment that has a high likelihood of being dilutive in the near term, considering the fact that E.piphany is not profitable at this point.

TWST: How unique are the sales forces involved with a company such as E.piphany and the integration issues that would arise in a merger or acquisition scenario? You have very targeted and very knowledgeable sales staffs built around products. In general, does that make the integration aspect of M&A activity more difficult in this space, or is it the customer relationship that rules that part of the marketing equation?

Mr. Ekoniak: Ultimately it’s the cultures of the acquiring organization and the acquiree, and whether those two cultures fit together. E.piphany has done a great job of hiring some very talented people, so the people are likely to be successful wherever they go. In terms of integrating the sales forces in an acquisition, customer relationships are very important. E.piphany’s salespeople have built up a strong customer base and have done a good job of approaching the right people in an organization. The salespeople will fit in well with an enterprise-class organization.

TWST: Macro events could also have some volatility in pricing.

Mr. Ekoniak: Both to the upside and the downside.

TWST: Which companies might be more subject to bad news about the economy or factors within the economy that are not positive?

Mr. Ekoniak: Oracle’s stock has not moved very much over the last two months. Oracle had some negative data points come out on the company that has kept its stock price low. But I think there is limited downside risk here at 15 a share, and if things improve considerably, we could see some meaningful appreciation in Oracle’s stock price. In terms of who’s got the most downside risk, if the environment continues to get worse, the large CRM players have had a good run recently, and we can see some weakness there, especially if the CRM market recovers more slowly than the other markets.

1) The Future of e-Business - In an in-depth (2,200 words) Expert Interview, Mick Calder, Analyst at Line56, examines the outlook for the sector.

2) B2B Supply Chain Strategy - In an in-depth (3,000 words) Expert Interview, Rick Andrade, Senior Manager at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, examines the outlook for the sector.

3) e-Business Management Strategies - In an in-depth (2,300 words) Expert Interview, Cathy Spencer, Research Director at Gartner Inc., examines the outlook for the sector.

4) Outlook for CRM and PRM Suppliers - In an in-depth (1,200 words) Expert Interview, Karen E. Smith, Senior Analyst at Aberdeen Group, examines the outlook for the sector.

5) The Continuing Evolution of B2B - In an in-depth (2,900 words) Expert Interview, Thomas M. Koulopoulos, President at The Delphi Group, examines the outlook for the sector.

6) Supply Chain Management Services - In an in-depth (3,400 words) Expert Interview, Jay Holata, Associate Partner of Accenture, examines the outlook for the sector.

7) Investing in e-Business Stocks - In an in-depth (3,100 words) Expert Interview, Robert McCullough, Director for Hurwitz Group, examines the outlook for the sector.

8) Supply Chain Strategies - In an in-depth (3,900 words) Expert Interview, John Fontanella, Service Director at AMR Research, examines the outlook for the sector.

9) E-Commerce Software - In an in-depth (3,500 words) Analyst Interview, Jon Ekoniak, Vice President at U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Inc., examines the outlook for the sector and shares specific stock recommendations.

10) Outlook for e-Business - In an in-depth (2,400 words) Analyst Interview, William Chappell, Senior Analyst in Equity Research at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, examines the outlook for the sector and shares specific stock recommendations.

11) Enterprise Solutions in B2B - In an in-depth (1,800 words) Analyst Interview, Robert B. Austrian, Managing Director at Banc of America Securities, examines the outlook for the sector and shares specific stock recommendations.

12) CEO interviews (average 2,500 words). Top management of thirty-eight sector firms examine the outlook for their firm and the sector.