Avocent Ranks #7 in Business 2.0 Magazine's List of Top 100 Fastest Growing Technology Companies.

Business Editors & Technology Writers

HUNTSVILLE, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 19, 2002

Avocent Corporation (NASDAQ:AVCT), the leading global provider of KVM switching and network connectivity appliances, announced today that it was distinguished as the seventh fastest growing technology company in Business 2.0 magazine's first annual top 100 ranking of more than 2,000 companies. Avocent joins such notable companies as Logitech and eBay in the top ten list.

"Avocent is proud to be recognized as one of the top ten technology leaders by Business 2.0," said John Cooper, president and CEO of Avocent Corporation. "This recognition makes it clear that we are successfully following our strategy to achieve significant growth through continuous product innovations and strategic acquisitions."

To make the list, firms in the Business 2.0 100 had to meet rigorous financial requirements proving that they outpaced rivals. Companies on the list had to place in the top five percent in a field of more than 2,000 publicly traded tech companies tracked by Zacks Investment Research of Chicago, when ranked on a combination of objective data: revenue, earnings, stock market performance and growth in cash flow. Business 2.0 narrowed the list to those with at least three years' history, $50 million in revenues, and positive cash flow from operations in the most recently reported 12 months. In consultation with finance professors George Foster of Stanford, Brett Trueman of the University of California at Berkeley, and Chip Ruscher of the University of Arizona, the publication created a ranking algorithm that combined 12-month stock market return with revenue, earnings, and operating cash flow growth during the past three years. The first three measures each count for 20 percent of a company's overall ranking, the last for 40 percent.

"With companies, as with people, the ones that thrive under adversity are the examples from which we can often learn the most," said Josh Quittner, editor of Business 2.0. "The establishment of the Business 2.0 100 allows us not only to spotlight the remarkable technology companies that have been able to grow the fastest under harsh marketplace conditions, but also to reveal the tactics they used to beat their rivals and claim success."

In addition to being featured in the October issue of Business 2.0, the complete list of the rankings will be available online at www.business2.com as of Oct. 1, 2002.

About Avocent Corporation

Avocent is the leading worldwide supplier of equipment that helps data center operators manage their ever-expanding server farms. Operators are provided real-time access to any of their computers over the Internet from anywhere in the world, all without requiring any special hardware or software on those computers. Avocent was formed in the year 2000 by the merger of leading industry innovators Apex Inc. and Cybex Computer Products Corporation. Headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, Avocent has locations in Austin, Texas; Redmond, Washington; Sunrise, Florida; Chelmsford, Massachusetts; Shannon, Ireland; London, England; Steinhagen, Germany; Tokyo, Japan; China and Singapore. For more information about Avocent and its products, visit the Company's website at www.avocent.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that are forward-looking statements as defined within the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include statements regarding market opportunity, product development, engineering and design activities, and product availability and operability. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made, including the risks associated with the introduction and operation of a new product, risks associated with product design efforts, and risks associated with reliance on a limited number of component suppliers and single source components. Other factors that could cause operating and financial results to differ are described in Avocent's annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 29, 2002. Other risks may be detailed from time to time in reports to be filed with the SEC. Avocent does not undertake any obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

About Business 2.0

Business 2.0, a magazine about insight, tools, and advantage in business, is published out of The FORTUNE Group at Time Inc., an AOL Time Warner company. For more information, visit its website at www.business2.com.

Avocent, is a registered trademarks of Avocent Corporation.