Agilent Technologies' New NetMetrix Billing Center Can Reduce WAN Costs for Businesses.

High-Tech Writers

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 18, 2000

Companies Now Have a Tool for Monitoring and Measuring Network

ROI Based on Actual Consumption of Network Resources

Agilent Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard Company, today announced the introduction of its first network usage-based billing solution, Agilent NetMetrix Billing Center. CFOs and CIOs can view network consumption in a detailed and metered monthly billing format, similar to most telephone bills, enabling businesses to better manage and contain their WAN (wide area networks) costs.

Network bandwidth costs are on the rise. According to a June 1999 report from The Yankee Group, it is not at all unusual for Fortune 200 companies to incur annual bandwidth costs of approximately $50 million, while many Fortune 500 companies face an average of $10 million in annual bandwidth costs. Usage-based billing systems, like Agilent NetMetrix Billing Center, help companies better manage and contain WAN costs to ensure that network resources are being used as effectively as possible.

"Networks have traditionally been viewed by users as a free commodity, which is a costly misconception," said Eric M. Hindin, director of Data Communications Research and Consulting at The Yankee Group. "Network bandwidth costs are growing between 15 and 25 percent annually with inefficient use of network bandwidth, putting a strain on corporate budgets."

Using technology from Apogee Networks, Inc., a leading provider of usage-based billing systems, Agilent NetMetrix Billing Center introduces a model for corporate networks that allows companies to:

--   highlight the total cost of network services and promote cost
     containment;

--   contain bandwidth demand by placing accountability for network
     usage and associated costs on specific departments within the
     organization;

--   forecast and budget future equipment procurement; and

--   reduce overall WAN costs.

Agilent NetMetrix Billing Center helps bridge the gap between IT and management by enabling network managers to itemize network costs in a report format similar to those used by other charge-by-usage corporate resources, such as telephones and electricity. For example, using Agilent NetMetrix Billing Center, network managers can encourage better use of network resources by:

--   identifying and pricing network utilization by time-of-day,
     application, protocol, user group and distance; and

--   providing departments with monthly bills outlining network
     consumption in dollars and cents, as well as reducing network
     spikes by limiting network usage during peak times and increasing
     utilization during off-peak times.

"Agilent NetMetrix Billing Center joins our comprehensive WAN management solutions, enabling IT managers to better quantify network usage and increase their return-on-investment in the face of escalating bandwidth costs," said Anita Manwani, general manager of Agilent's NetMetrix Division.

The NetMetrix suite of products offers the most comprehensive WAN and LAN (local area networks) management portfolios in the industry and enables IT managers to increase their ROI against escalating network costs. Agilent NetMetrix Billing Center joins the following award-winning solutions in the NetMetrix portfolio:

--   NetMetrix Enterprise Manager for network performance management
     in enterprise environments;

--   NetMetrix Performance Center for network performance management
     for mid-tier enterprises and managing remote sites in large
     enterprise environments;

--   Service Simulator for Networks to assist in network planning; and

--   the industry's broadest offering of media-specific data
     collectors.

U.S. Pricing and Availability

Agilent NetMetrix Billing Center is available now. Pricing begins at $200,000. For more information, visit www.agilent.com/comms/netmetrix.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies, Inc. is a diversified technology company, resulting from Hewlett-Packard Company's plan to strategically realign itself into two fully independent companies. With 42,000 employees serving customers in more than 120 countries, Agilent Technologies, as a subsidiary of HP, is a global leader in designing and manufacturing test, measurement and monitoring instruments, systems and solutions, and semiconductor and optical components. The company serves markets that include communications, electronics, life sciences and healthcare. The businesses comprising Agilent had net revenues of more than $8.3 billion in fiscal year 1999.

Information about Agilent Technologies can be found on the Web at http://www.agilent.com.

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Information in this release applies specifically to products available in the United States. Product availability and specifications may vary in non-U.S. markets.

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