ADVISORY/Vertical Networks Debates in Network World Showdown at Fall Voice on the Network Conference.

News Editors/High-Tech Writers

Fall Voice On The Net 2002

ADVISORY...for Thursday (Oct. 7)

--(BUSINESS WIRE)

CTO, Executive Vice President Will Battle in Showdown; Director of

Product Management Will Address IP Communications Inside the

Enterprise in Enterprise Forum Track

WHO & WHAT:

Scott Pickett, CTO and executive vice president of Vertical Networks, Inc., the leading provider of Integrated Communications Platforms (ICPs) for enterprise branch offices and small to medium-sized businesses, and Mohammed Ahmed, director of product management, will both speak at the upcoming Fall Voice on the Network (VON) conference, October 7-10, 2002, in Atlanta.

On Monday, October 7, Pickett will participate in Network World's showdown between IP Centrex suppliers and IP PBX vendors titled, "Battle for the Enterprise: Hosted IP Centrex Versus IP PBX." During the debate with other leading vendors in the IP PBX and IP Centrex markets, Pickett will address different customer scenarios staged by the moderators and discuss how IP PBXs stack up against IP Centrex. John Dix, editor in chief of Network World, will moderate the session, and will be joined by Mike Hommer, manager of lab testing at Miercom.

Pickett has more than 17 years of experience in engineering and management and has held a number of positions that span from embedded software and reconfigurable logic to networking and communications systems. Prior to co-founding Vertical Networks, Pickett served as director of development for National Semiconductor's LAN division. Pickett is a founding member of the Softswitch Consortium, was previously co-chairman of the Softswitch Consortium Technical Advisory Council, and contributed to the IETF RFC on MGCP. Pickett was also a member of the IPDC Tech Advisory Council. Pickett currently serves as an advisor on several boards for high-technology startups.

Also on Monday, October 7, Mohammed Ahmed, director of product management will participate in the "iPBX in the Enterprise" session. During this session, Ahmed will join executives from CITEL, eDial, and Swyx in discussing current IP PBX trends in the enterprise market, as well as looking at what's next.

Ahmed has more than16 years experience in product management, marketing, and business development in the communications industry. Prior to joining Vertical Networks, Ahmed was director of product line management at ipVerse and senior product manager at Sentient Networks Inc., a manufacturer of carrier class voice and data access switches that was acquired by Cisco in 1999. In addition, Ahmed had an extensive tenure at Nortel Networks where his responsibilities included product line management, marketing, and business development. Ahmed received a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from California State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Golden Gate University.

    WHERE & WHEN:

    Fall VON
    October 7-10, 2002
    Cobb Galleria
    Atlanta

    SESSIONS:

    Battle for the Enterprise: Hosted IP Centrex Versus IP PBX
    Scott Pickett, CTO, Executive Vice President, Co-Founder, Vertical
    Networks Monday, October 7, 5:00-6:30 p.m.

    iPBXs in the Enterprise
    Mohammed Ahmed, Director of Product Management, Vertical Networks
    Monday, October 7, 3:30-4:45 p.m.
BACKGROUND:

About the InstantOffice

Vertical Networks' InstantOffice system is a family of flexible products that offer everything enterprise branch offices and stores require for their voice and data communications needs. The InstantOffice system is a fully integrated voice, data, and applications platform that is remotely manageable. Businesses choose and buy only the voice, data, and applications functionality they need, including PBX, voice mail, VoIP gateway, Ethernet LAN, and call center functionality. Modular WAN interfaces support the different bandwidth and service requirements of customers and carrier partners.

About Vertical Networks

Vertical Networks is the leading provider of Integrated Communications Platforms (ICPs), the first systems that combine voice, data, and applications support into one remotely manageable platform. With a unique focus on the needs of enterprise branch offices and small to medium-sized businesses worldwide, Vertical Networks delivers business solutions to a wide range of industries, including financial services, medical, publishing, and retail. To ensure total customer satisfaction, Vertical Networks' strategic network service provider, reseller, and systems integration partners offer comprehensive support services, including 7x24 on-site support. For more information about Vertical Networks or its products, visit the company's Web site at www.vertical.com or call 408-523-9700.