AdvizeX Withstands Ever-Changing IT Industry; Celebrates 25 Years of Doing Business.

Business Editors, High-Tech Writers

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 26, 2000

AdvizeX Technologies, LLC - an information technology (IT) solutions provider - has navigated its way through the ever-changing IT industry and is celebrating its 25th year in the business. Founded in 1975 as Higley & Company, providing consulting and technical services to a handful of clients in Ohio and Pennsylvania, AdvizeX now has over 2,000 clients and offices throughout the Midwest and New England areas of the United States.

"We are extremely proud of this accomplishment. Only the most nimble and innovative companies can survive the IT industry's constantly evolving landscape for this long," said John Colangelo, president and chief executive officer at AdvizeX. "We've thrived in this industry by creating a client-advocate business model that all our employees keep in mind when developing a solution."

The key to AdvizeX's success can be found in the company's four values--being client centric, building strong partnerships, encouraging and supporting employee participation and development, and maintaining high ethical standards. Evidence of AdvizeX's "client for life" philosophy can be seen in the numerous current clients who have been with the company for more than ten years--some dating back to AdvizeX's origin in 1975.

"This company had a `client-centric' focus long before it was an industry buzzword," said Colangelo. "By adapting to the needs of our clients, we have broadened our portfolio of solutions and developed IT environments that grow with the client."

"AdvizeX has that winning combination of quality products, knowledgeable employees, and a strong commitment to doing whatever it takes to help the client," said Kevin Beattie, director of corporate information services at Nordson Corporation. Headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, Nordson is a multinational manufacturer of systems that apply adhesives, sealants, and coatings to consumer and industrial products during manufacturing.

"Their team did an outstanding job of getting us the equipment we needed and setting up our data center in a short amount of time," continued Beattie. "They continue to be a valued advisor for our information technology needs."

While AdvizeX has partnered with a number of technology leaders in its 25-year history, the company's relationship with Hewlett-Packard, which began in 1979, has become one of the biggest factors in the company's success. Earlier this year, AdvizeX received HP's Most Valued Partner award for being one of the few organizations with the ability to help HP accomplish its "Channels 2000" consolidation strategy.

"It's rare to find a company who shares our vision and passion to achieve newer and greater accomplishments every year," said Dan Sytsma, general manager for the Midwest Business Unit at HP. "The direction AdvizeX has set for the next few years is sure to mean another 25 years of success and Hewlett-Packard looks forward to working with them to reach that goal."

In addition to the HP relationship, AdvizeX partners with Oracle, EMC, Cisco, Microsoft, and other industry leaders for its e-services and business-critical solutions. "In the world of e-services, it's comforting to know you have a partner like AdvizeX with a solid business model and the personnel to support it," said Tom Marth, regional manager for the Oracle Corporation in Cincinnati, Ohio.

AdvizeX's growth strategy for the future is built around four areas: capitalization on the explosion of e-services, maintaining current revenue streams in hardware sales and infrastructure services, strategic geographic expansion, and through the ongoing hiring of skilled sales, technical, and support personnel.

With headquarters near Cleveland, Ohio, AdvizeX Technologies is a privately held information technology solutions provider ranked among the fastest growing companies in Ohio. The company has offices throughout the Midwest and New England regions of the United States. AdvizeX partners with IT leaders such as Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, EMC, Cisco, and Microsoft for e-services, mission critical, and enterprise management solutions. Additional information about AdvizeX can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.advizex.com/.