Akibia Announces Professional Services Practice; Responds to Growing Customer Demand for Onsite System and Database Administration.

Business/Technology Editors

WESTBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 19, 2001

Akibia IT Support Services, the leading independent provider of customized mission-critical UNIX and NT support services, today announced the creation of a Professional Services practice in response to growing customer demand for onsite system and database administration. The practice is a natural extension of its core IT support and technical education services.

In creating the new practice, Akibia will formalize and build upon the firm's longstanding tradition of expertise and reliability in supporting UNIX and NT environments. With experts in both hardware and software, Akibia is equipped to diagnose the root of a customer's problem with exceptional speed and accuracy.

"Our hardware and software support customers have continually asked us to help take some of the pressure off of their own IT staff," said Thomas Willson, Akibia CEO. "Many companies find it difficult to hire, train and retain qualified IT personnel. By teaming with Akibia, our customers have the ability to extend their in-house capabilities and gain instant access to some of the most experienced and well-trained engineers and consultants in the industry. We can then work with customers in a way that allows them to focus on their most strategic IT needs, while we ensure that their daily operational IT activities are executed flawlessly."

Akibia boasts a twelve-year history of profitable operating experience, and strategic partnerships with Sun Microsystems, Microsoft Corporation and Hewlett-Packard systems. Akibia provides Fortune 500 and middle-market companies in North America and Europe with qualified IT professionals for UNIX and NT systems administration and Oracle and MS/SQL database administration.

"With an increasing number of mission-critical systems crossing both UNIX and NT platforms, we feel it's important to have expertise in both domains," said Daniel L. Smith, Vice President of Professional Services, who will head up the group. "We are experts in system administration and database administration, and we can handle everything from installing or upgrading operating systems to debugging hardware connectivity issues. We help customers gain more value from existing technologies, ensure system availability and keep technical infrastructures up-to-date."

With more than 28 years of experience in application development and information technology management, Mr. Smith's expertise lies in systems engineering and large-scale project management. His vast industry experience helps him and his team successfully implement systems on time and within budget through the use of project development methodologies, project management software and design tools.

In his new role at Akibia, Mr. Smith will oversee the growth of the new practice, the training and deployment of its consulting and engineering resources, and will support the firm's mission-critical UNIX and NT infrastructure support services.

About Akibia IT Support Services

Akibia IT Support Services, a division of Akibia, Inc., is the leading independent provider of customized mission-critical UNIX and NT support services. The firm delivers hardware and software support, systems and database administration, and education to companies such as Cisco Systems, Inc., Bell & Howell, Bose Corporation and AT&T Corp. Akibia's tailored infrastructure management solutions ensure the absolute availability of its customers' technology environments. For more information, call 508-621-5100 or visit the Akibia web site at www.akibia.com.