[0] Loudcloud Service Level Agreement Awarded Highest Mean Score in Comprehensive Tier 1 Research Report; Leading Managed Service Provider Receives Top Marks in Infrastructure Uptime.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 18, 2001

Loudcloud, Inc., (Nasdaq:LDCL), the leading managed services provider (MSP), today announced that Tier 1 Research, the "sector information exchange" for the Internet infrastructure services industry, has awarded Loudcloud's Service Level Agreement (SLA) the highest mean score of all participating companies responding to at least three of the four SLA component sections analyzed in the report.

According to the report, "Loudcloud will be one of the first companies to tell you that their SLA is one of the best (if not the best) in the industry. Our survey and industry comparison confirms this to be true. The company's strength in managing the stack is clearly reflected in its SLA to customers."

The December report entitled, "How Good is Good Enough: A Look at Service Level Agreements, Objectives, and Guarantees in Internet Infrastructure," reviews the SLAs of 20 participating companies, including industry leading companies such as Exodus/C&W, Genuity, AT&T, MFN, and Digex. Loudcloud's SLA received the highest overall mean score in participating categories and was rated number one in Infrastructure Uptime and number two in Security Management.

"The company focuses its service level guarantees on application uptime and time to respond/resolve service issues, and its score on Infrastructure Uptime was the highest among participants," according to the report. "In addition, Loudcloud's mean score was the highest among participants as well. Both the Infrastructure and Security sections benefited from excellent scores when it came to issuing service credits and dealing with high and medium priority service issues."

"An SLA is more than just a legal contract, it's a commitment," said Jim Dimitriou, Executive Vice President, Customer Operations at Loudcloud. "Our team is dedicated to providing a truly comprehensive SLA, one that serves as a guarantee to our customers that their mission critical applications and data are always on and always secure. On top of that, the results of our recent customer survey demonstrated high customer satisfaction, indicating that we are delivering on what we promise in the SLA. Tier 1 obviously understands the value of a clearly defined SLA and we are excited to have been recognized by their analysts as one of the preeminent leaders in this category."

Loudcloud is able to stand behind the stringent guarantees provided to customers in its SLA in part because of the company's proprietary Opsware(TM) automation technology. Opsware technology underpins all Loudcloud services, which help manage a diverse set of hardware, networking technology and software systems critical to Internet operations. By automating and streamlining formerly manual tasks, Loudcloud can offer its customers better quality, scale and speed in their Internet operations. This high level of automation allows Loudcloud to provide a higher level of service to customers overall and provide more efficient tracking of performance for the SLA.

The full Loudcloud summary detailing Tier 1 Research's assessment of the Loudcloud SLA can be viewed at http://www.loudcloud.com/services/index.html.

Loudcloud provides corporations with all of the components required to create and maintain a world-class Internet site including: site architecture, hardware and software selection, co-location, network connectivity, ongoing management and services, and the ability to automatically add bandwidth and services as the site grows. These services are enabled by Loudcloud's unique Opsware automation technology and backed by Loudcloud's award-winning service level agreement (SLA) that ensures 24x7x365 service.

About Tier 1 Research

Tier 1 Research, pioneer of the "sector information exchange," is a unique research and consulting firm combining financial and strategic analysis of public and private companies in the Internet Infrastructure Software and Services industry. A key hallmark of the company is its independence enabling unbiased research and competitive analysis for all audiences with an interest in the managed hosting, storage, content delivery, and various emerging software and solution vendors for the outsourced and enterprise data center markets. Tier 1 Research works with institutional investors, venture capital firms and companies as an outsourced competitive analysis team with a broad range of services. For more information on other reports from Tier 1 Research or to find out about some of the other services we provide such as the widely read daily newsletter, please visit our web site at www.tier1research.com or by emailing Andrew Schroepfer at [e-mail].

About Loudcloud, Inc.

Loudcloud is the leading managed services provider, offering a new solution for outsourcing global Internet operations for enterprise companies, application service providers and large-scale Internet businesses. Loudcloud moves beyond hosting or managed services with its unique Opsware technology to automate, scale, and monitor Internet operation functions previously done by hand. Loudcloud manages its infrastructure network via a worldwide network of data centers and Network Operations Centers (NOCs) located in North America and Europe. For more information on Loudcloud, please visit our Web site at www.loudcloud.com

Note to Editors: Loudcloud and Opsware are service marks and trademarks of Loudcloud, Inc. All other product names, service marks, and trademarks mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.