SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 9 -- Aspect Communications Corporation (Nasdaq: ASPT), the leading provider of enterprise customer contact solutions, today announced Aspect® IP Contact Suite -- Enterprise, the first customer contact suite that integrates easily to the enterprise through PSTN and IP telephony products and simplifies CTI with quick and easy Web services. For the first time, Aspect solutions make it possible to seamlessly direct customer contacts to the right resource the first time, anywhere in the enterprise across tens of thousands of knowledge workers in hundreds of locations. Aspect IP Contact Suite -- Enterprise delivers on the vision and promise of the initial release. With Aspect solutions, potentially any employee at any location in banking, retail, health care and business services firms can take customer contacts, greatly expanding customer service capabilities. Companies benefit by expanding the number of possible agents without increasing headcount. By supporting leading PSTN and IP telephony systems and providing Web services, Aspect IP Contact Suite -- Enterprise delivers convenience and freedom of choice in choosing telephony platforms and integrating with any enterprise application. Over time, popular CRM applications such as mySAP can be quickly integrated through Web services.

Shurgard Storage Centers Inc. ("Shurgard"), which operates a network of more than 545 storage centers in the United States and Europe, has been using the current release of Aspect IP Contact Suite to improve customer service and increase operational efficiency. Shurgard plans to use Aspect IP Contact Suite -- Enterprise to meet the challenges of providing quality service at hundreds of locations around the clock by enabling employees from outside the traditional call center to handle customer inquiries, making the best use of resources and providing customers with fast service.

"Through IPCS -- Enterprise we are able to easily migrate from our traditional Aspect call center to IP telephony thereby extending customer contacts to employees in every location supported by IP-PBXs of our choice," said Richard Robinson, of Shurgard. "The Aspect IP Contact Suite -- Enterprise has changed the idea of the contact center at Shurgard. By taking advantage of VoIP, we've extended the capabilities of the contact center to a large number of employees, drastically expanding the pool of qualified people who can provide customer service."

"Microsoft is very excited to be working with Aspect to deliver the next-generation contact center solutions and technology utilizing .NET and Web services," said Sanjay Parthasarathy, Microsoft's vice president for .NET Strategy and Partner Group. "Combining .NET and Web Services with Aspect's IP Contact Suite will enable enterprise customers to create more agile, connected and successful businesses."

The Aspect IP Contact Suite -- Enterprise key features include:

    -- Support for leading traditional and IP PBX vendors including CISCO,
       Avaya, Nortel, 3COM, Siemens, Rockwell and Shoreline.
    -- Web services enabled through industry standards including SOAP, WSDL
       and Microsoft .NET Connected Premium Certified.
    -- Integration with PSTN, hybrid and pure IP network platforms.
    -- Full multichannel contact center including IP and PSTN IVR support
       through VXML.

"Aspect is the leader in bringing .NET Web services to the IP contact center," said Gary Barnett, Aspect's chief technology officer. "As Web services become more popular, Aspect customers will be the first to benefit from easier integrations. At the same time, Aspect is bringing unprecedented improvements in efficiency and customer satisfaction by potentially extending the contact center to every employee in a company."

Aspect is one of the first companies to get .NET Connected Premium Certified. Aspect IP Contact Suite -- Enterprise v2.0 will be generally available in the first quarter of 2003.

About Aspect Communications

Aspect Communications Corporation is the leading provider of business communications solutions that help companies improve customer satisfaction, reduce operating costs, gather market intelligence and increase revenue. Aspect is the trusted mission-critical partner of 74 percent of the Fortune 50, daily managing more than 3 million customer sales and service professionals worldwide. Aspect is the only company that provides the mission-critical software platform, development environment and applications that seamlessly integrate voice-over-IP, traditional telephony, e-mail, voicemail, Web, fax and wireless business communications, while guaranteeing investment protection in a company's front-office, back-office, Internet and telephony infrastructures. Aspect's leadership in business communications solutions is based on more than 17 years of experience and over 8,000 implementations deployed worldwide. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with offices around the world, as well as an extensive global network of systems integrators, independent software vendors and distribution partners. For more information, visit Aspect's Web site at http://www.aspect.com/ or call 877-621-3692.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: All statements in this release that involve Aspect's forecasts, beliefs, projections, expectations, strategies and intentions are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to Aspect at the time of this release, are not guarantees of future results; rather, they are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in this release. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the uncertainty of demand for Aspect products; the anticipated customer benefits from Aspect products; increased competition and technological changes in the markets in which Aspect competes; Aspect's abilities to manage growth; intense competition for qualified employees; and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Aspect's annual report on Form 10-K and Aspect's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Aspect assumes no obligation to update information concerning its expectations.

NOTE: Aspect, the Aspect logo and the phrases and marks relating to other Aspect products and services discussed in this press release constitute one or both of the following: (1) registered trademarks and/or service marks of Aspect Communications Corporation in the United States and/or other countries or (2) intellectual property subject to protection under common law principles. All other names and marks mentioned in this document are properties of their respective owners.