Aurora Medical Center Invests in 800 Seats Of NCD's ThinPATH PC Software to Meet New Enterprise System Demands.

Business Editors

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 4, 2002

Network Computing Devices, Inc., ((NCD) (OTC:NCDI.OB)), a leading producer of thin client solutions, today announced that The Medical Center of Aurora, an HCA/HealthOne hospital located near Denver, Colorado, has purchased 800 seats of NCD's ThinPATH PC and ThinPATH Management Portal. This new software manages PCs as thin clients, and has greatly improved the medical center staff's user experience and the efficiency of the IT support staff.

Following an HCA seminar for IT directors, which highlighted the many future projects that would vastly change the dynamics of the IT department, Sally Guinane, the hospital's director of information systems, and Steve Pratt, network administrator, realized that they faced a daunting set of challenges: The hospital's Meditech application, which the hospital's nursing staff had previously accessed via dumb terminals, now needed to be deployed in a Windows-based PC environment. In addition, a new purchasing management software, MediBuy, needed to be deployed in an environment with access to a web browser. Finally, other administrative requirements were increasing the need for more PCs overall. The impact was 1,500 new PCs that needed to be set up, customized, and supported.

"The dumb terminals had not needed much management," explained Pratt. "We now faced a major challenge - a huge increase in the number of PCs without a commensurate increase in technicians to support them. How were we going to deploy that many PCs and still be able to successfully manage them with a lean and mean support staff?"

Pratt and Guinane contacted Global Village Systems, Inc., an NCD reseller and recognized leader in networking technology and server-based computing. Global Village Systems helped to design a pilot program using thin-client terminals. Although this solution showed some promise, there was a fatal flaw. There was no guarantee that the new 32-bit Windows version of Meditech would run on a thin client.

The Medical Center of Aurora and Global Village Systems then turned to NCD's new software offering, NCD ThinPATH PC. This software enables a PC to function as a thin client, while still retaining the ability to function as a PC. Applications can be run locally or from a Citrix MetaFrame XP server farm. The PC can be completely administered by the IT staff remotely, using NCD's ThinPATH Management Portal.

Guinane made the decision to purchase 800 licenses of NCD ThinPATH PC, and the solution has worked so well that The Medical Center of Aurora plans to deploy the software on all 1500+ desktops at the medical center. Using NCD ThinPATH PC and NCD ThinPATH Management Portal to create a "thin PC environment," the IT team is able to deploy PCs throughout the organization that are remotely administered and controlled. The software allows them to easily manage the ever-increasing number of applications, and provide superior user support, all with a very small IT staff working in a highly distributed environment, consisting of three separate campuses.

"NCD ThinPATH PC has already made us a much more efficient department," states Guinane. "The ability to set up and manage PCs from a centralized location is a huge advantage for us. Our IT team used to have to configure everything at the nurses' stations, but now they can deploy everything from our IT shop. They can set up 15 devices in 30 minutes. This causes a lot less aggravation for the nursing staff. The IT staff is not in their way, and we can begin training them as soon as we plug in. It's truly a plug and play solution."

Pratt also likes the flexibility of the ThinPATH PC shell, which makes it easier to customize access for each user. In a Windows 2000 environment, users either need passwords or their own domains. In the medical center's new "thin PC" environment, the ThinPATH PC shell logs onto the desktop and gives users access to their local applications and Citrix MetaFrame-based applications.

This feature has greatly enhanced the user experience. For example, a nurse manager can now log onto her desktop from any of the ThinPATH PC terminals in the hospital - she doesn't necessarily need to return to her office to access her applications. Another example of improved usability - one of the secretaries formerly had to use two different types of terminals in two different locations - one for Meditech and one for MediBuy. Now she can access all her applications via a PC with ThinPATH PC at her desk.

"Many of the nursing staff are self-proclaimed computer novices," according to Pratt. "In fact, in a recent survey many of them rated themselves as having zero knowledge." They were not exaggerating. The IT staff often fields questions such as `how do you use a mouse?' "We installed the new PCs with ThinPATH PC software and gave them new, sleek, flat panel monitors to assist with the buy-in. Within five minutes they were saying, `Wow, this is neat!' NCD ThinPATH PC is extremely usable; they're quickly getting used to the interface. Frankly, I had expected it to be more difficult."

In addition to an enhanced user experience and increased efficiencies for the IT department, NCD ThinPATH PC offers an important added benefit - increased security. "It's difficult to completely lock down a Windows 2000 desktop," comments Pratt. "This will reduce the damage that can be done either accidentally or purposefully, and will enhance the IT staff's control over the security and the terminals." ThinPATH PC may even enhance Pratt's and other hospital network administrators' ability to comply with HIPPA requirements.

"ThinPATH PC gives me more flexibility than a thin client terminal solution would have," concludes Pratt. "Another big advantage is the support I've received from NCD and Global Village Systems. I have been able to work closely with them to customize the software to my needs."

About NCD ThinPATH PC

NCD ThinPATH PC is an innovative software offering designed to manage PCs as thin clients, thereby reducing the total cost of owning and maintaining PC desktops. NCD ThinPATH PC is the first software to focus solely on managing the PC as a thin client. NCD ThinPATH PC is priced at $119. per desktop license, and is available via NCD resellers. NCD also offers a Subscription Plus program that allows customers to automatically receive software updates and technical support for an annual fee.

About ThinPATH Management Portal

The ThinPATH Management Portal broadens the scope of NCD's ThinPATH PC software for any company that is deploying server-based computing by using PCs as thin clients. The NCD ThinPATH Management Portal provides a single point of administration to install software, updates or patches, and completely eliminates the need for manual software installation and configuration at the desktop. Software can be organized into components for specific updates, thereby dramatically reducing network utilization.

About The Medical Center of Aurora, an HCA/HealthOne Hospital

The Medical Center of Aurora (TMCA) is part of the HealthONE joint venture in Denver between the HealthONE Alliance and HCA. HealthONE operates five acute care hospitals, one rehabilitation hospital as well as 60 clinics and three surgery centers in the Denver market.

TMCA is a 346-licensed bed hospital with a Level II trauma center located in Aurora, Colorado. The City of Aurora has a population of 286,000 and is immediately adjacent to the City and County of Denver, Colorado. TMCA is the only acute care hospital in the Eastern Metropolitan Denver area.

About Global Village Systems, Inc.

Global Village Systems, Inc. is a systems integration firm specializing in the deployment of server-based computing solutions. The company works with several industries, including banking and financial services, healthcare, legal and accounting, as well as others. Global Village Systems helps executives and managers take control of their network infrastructure and IT support costs by providing the Managed Network Solution. For more information, visit www.globalvillagesystems.com.

About NCD

Founded in 1988, Network Computing Devices, Inc. (NCD) is a leading provider of innovative products and technology for the thin client and Internet appliance market. Its US-based operations, NCD, Inc., is a software-based product and technology supplier for the worldwide Internet appliance market. The company's offerings include its flagship Thinfrastructure family of products, comprising software for the management of thin clients, as well the NC900 Business Network Computer X-terminal. NCD Europe is a thin client solutions vendor, offering a full solution set of thin client hardware, management software and customer solutions services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. NCD focuses on the future of server-based computing as it expands to encompass thin clients, PCs, PDAs and other mobile devices, and offers its customers the knowledge, experience, solutions and services necessary to make it all work together seamlessly. NCD can be reached on the Internet at: www.ncd.com or by calling [phone].

Network Computing Devices and ThinPATH are registered trademarks of Network Computing Devices, Inc. Thinfrastructure is a trademark of Network Computing Devices Inc. Other trademarks are the acknowledged property of their respective holders.

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding NCD's product offerings, market position and customer base, and growth in demand for multi-platform offerings, thin clients, and other products. No assurances can be given that the products announced herein will gain acceptance in the marketplace or as to its effect on NCD's business, results of operations and financial condition. These statements involve risks and uncertainty, and actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes its expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, no assurances can be given that such expectations will prove correct. Further information on factors that could cause actual results to differ from those anticipated is included in filings made by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to, the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001 and the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2002.