Applied Systems Selects LiveVault to Ensure Data Protection for Thousands of Insurance Agencies.

Business Editors

MARLBOROUGH, Mass. & UNIVERSITY PARK, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 8, 2003

Partnership solidifies LiveVault leadership in insurance market; enables Applied Systems to guarantee recovery of critical customer data

LiveVault Corporation(R) (www.livevault.com), the leading provider of online backup and recovery solutions for business servers, and Applied Systems, Inc. (www.appliedsystems.com), the insurance industry's foremost automation provider, today announced a strategic partnership to protect insurance agency data. Through this partnership, Applied Systems will deliver disaster recovery services to customers using Applied's agency management software by offering the LiveVault Online Backup and Recovery Service(TM).

Applied Systems provides software and services to more than 10,000 insurance organizations worldwide, from small independent agencies to large brokers and MGAs, as well as carriers. Now, Applied Systems is offering these customers unparalleled data protection and recovery capabilities through LiveVault.

"Our customers deserve peace of mind and solid protection of their data, which is the lifeblood of their business," said James P. Kellner, president and CEO of Applied Systems. "With data security such a critical issue in today's business environment, we are extremely pleased to partner with LiveVault, the leader in the online backup industry, to deliver world class data protection and recovery to our customers."

LiveVault will replace the data storage and recovery services Applied Systems previously offered customers using The Agency Manager(R) and The Agency Manager(R) Vision Series, its leading agency management solutions. This new service will be called Data Storage and Recovery Powered by LiveVault and will provide continuous backup of an agency's server data. If a loss of agency data occurs, Data Storage and Recovery Powered by LiveVault enables the agency to recover information that was saved just minutes before the interruption occurred, and the agency can retrieve the data immediately via a Web management portal.

"The success of our agencies ultimately lies in their ability to provide quality service to their customers. Any extended interruption in this service could place their business at risk. Now, if a problem occurs, they can immediately retrieve up-to-the-minute data online, allowing them to seamlessly continue serving customers," Kellner said.

The LiveVault Online Backup and Recovery Service works by automatically and continuously backing up business server data via a secure Internet connection and storing it in a secure off-site Iron Mountain(R) facility, where it is available for immediate--and guaranteed--recovery in the event of a system failure, virus, human error or other disaster.

The LiveVault service is designed for customers whose servers reside outside of major data centers--such as enterprise remote or branch offices, or small and mid-sized businesses--and who have primarily relied on in-house tape backups to keep their data safe. Analysts estimate nearly 50 percent of tape-based backups for these distributed servers fail to restore properly, seriously compromising the operations, and potentially the viability, of affected companies. Conversely, LiveVault's fully managed service offers a 100 percent data recoverability guarantee so companies can always be open for business.

"Applied Systems' solutions are trusted by insurance agencies worldwide, including thousands of small and medium sized enterprises with limited IT staffs and critical data protection needs," said Bob Cramer, president and CEO of LiveVault. "We're pleased that together, LiveVault and Applied Systems can ensure these organizations that their data is safe and recoverable no matter what disaster may occur."

About Applied Systems, Inc.

Applied Systems, Inc. is the leading provider of automation solutions for the property and casualty insurance industry. Since 1983, the company has developed software for independent insurance agents, brokers, managing general agents, and insurance companies, as well as banks and other financial institutions with insurance operations. Applied has helped more than 10,000 insurance organizations achieve new levels of success using its leading management systems, The Agency Manager(R), The Agency Manager(R) Vision Series(TM), and The Diamond System(TM). Developments in electronic data interchange have also contributed to Applied's position as the industry's technology frontrunner. Combined with consulting services and third-party integration, Applied Systems automates insurance transactions at every level of distribution, from customer to carrier.

About LiveVault Corporation

LiveVault Corporation is the leading provider of fully managed online data backup and recovery services. LiveVault automatically and continuously backs up server data, protects it offsite at a secure, remote Iron Mountain facility, and makes it immediately available for recovery 24x7. Through its partnerships with Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and others, LiveVault helps ensure the business continuity of mid-sized businesses, as well as distributed offices of larger enterprises. LiveVault is based in Marlborough, Mass. For more information visit www.livevault.com or call [phone].

LiveVault is a registered trademark of LiveVault Corporation. Iron Mountain is a registered trademark of Iron Mountain, Incorporated. HP is a registered trademark of Hewlett-Packard Corporation. Microsoft and .NET are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or service marks of their respective owners. All rights reserved.