Bay Networks Announces Service Online To Revolutionize Customer Care; Service Offers Customers Online Solutions for Technical Support Issues.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 1998--Continuing its commitment to deliver the level of service today's customers demand, Bay Networks,(R) Inc. (NYSE:BAY), a leading supplier of internetworking solutions, today announced Service Online, a suite of Web-based service tools. Service Online offers Bay Networks' service contract customers a Web-based alternative for solving technical issues. Using Service Online, customers can create, track and update support cases, access operational software updates and create and query Return Material Authorizations (RMAs).

Companies are under more pressure today than ever before to be responsive to their customers' demands for superior service. In addition, companies must provide these increased levels of customer service while still maintaining costs. Bay Networks' Service Online solves both these problems and is a service experience that is easy to use for all customers, including direct end users, channel partners as well as customers supported through channel partners.

"Service Online was designed specifically for the satisfaction of our customers," said Bill Ferone, vice president of Customer Service Worldwide at Bay Networks. "It is a reinforcement of our philosophy to create a user-friendly solution for technical issues. Through Service Online, we are offering an easy-to-use, highly effective support alternative that saves customers time and allows them to benefit from the feedback and solutions of other users."

Bay Networks has been recognized by industry analyst firm Dataquest for its commitment to customer service and support. "Bay Networks understands that clients won't utilize Web-based services if information resides many layers deep," said Ellen Carney, director and principal analyst at Dataquest. "Bay Networks has designed its Web services so that clients need only to click through a minimum number of layers to get to the requested information, creating a service experience that is easy to engage," added Carney.

Service Online Features

Among the primary features of Service Online, the Solutions Exchange program allows customers to search Bay Networks' knowledgebase using simple phrases or search terms, instead of a decision tree model, to find solutions and resolve technical support issues. Customers are given the option to create a report for a technical problem within Solutions Exchange. Bay Networks' Technical Support Engineers (TSE) can then see the steps and actions taken by the customers' prior efforts in solving the problem, eliminating any duplication in developing the solution. The TSEs can work with the customers to resolve the issue via the phone, email, or the Web. In addition, Service Online provides streamlined and timely delivery of accurate information to support customers, including proactive communication regarding technical literature/software and share and exchange solutions via the Web. By eliminating the constraints of distance and time, Bay Networks is offering on-demand quality service and support.

Service Online is operational and serving Bay Networks customers today. Currently, 135,000 Web views are reported on a monthly basis. "We are saving a great deal of time in dealing with technical issues through Service Online," said John Repucci, WAN Administrator, Guidant Corp. "Not only can we get answers in real-time, but we find that supplementing the `text book' answers from the customer support engineer group with successful solutions from other companies helps us see real life situations. Bay Networks has created an online community that allows its customers to feel like they are part of the solutions."

Bay Networks is using innovative technologies from companies such as Primus, Clarify and Astea to offer key functions for Service Online. Primus' Solutions Exchange program enables customers to create a "footprint" of their case, which TSEs can view to see the customers' prior efforts in solving problems, and then customize solutions and immediately provide them to customers via the phone or email. Clarify allows customers to generate and check the status of cases in a real-time fashion. Astea's program allows customers to initiate RMAs -- as opposed to calling the TSE to submit the request -- as well as check on the status of previous requests.

Service Online is comprised of the following primary features:

-- Solutions Exchange allows customers to search Bay Networks'

knowledgebase using natural language phrases to find solutions

and resolve technical support issues. -- Case Management provides customers with the ability to open a

trouble ticket and check the status of open cases. All cases are

logged and immediately visible to call coordinators. -- RMA Processing lets certified customers initiate RMAs and track

them online. -- Software Services provide patches or fixes that customers can

download immediately. -- Bug Viewer keeps customers apprised of all known software

problems and fixes in a timely fashion.

Availability

Service Online is provided free-of-charge to all Network Support Services contract customers as a component of Bay Networks contracts starting from the PhonePlus level. Service Online can be accessed through Bay Networks' Web site at www.baynetworks.com.

About Bay Networks, Inc. -- Where Information Flows(TM)

Bay Networks, Inc. (NYSE:BAY) is a leader in the worldwide networking market, providing a complete line of products that serve corporate enterprises, service providers and telecommunications carriers. The company offers frame and ATM switches, routers, shared media, remote and Internet access solutions, IP services and network management applications, all integrated by Bay Networks' Adaptive Networking strategy. With headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., Bay Networks markets its products and services around the world, providing 7x24 support coverage. For additional information visit the company's World Wide Web site at http://www.baynetworks.com or call 800-8-BAYNET. -0-

This release, other than historical financial information, contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results. For instance, factors that could cause results to differ from future events include the timing of customer orders, the rate of adoption of new technologies in the data networking market, and competitive pricing actions, among others. Readers are referred to the documents filed by Bay Networks with the S.E.C., specifically the most recent reports on forms 10-K and 10-Q, which identify important risk factors which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. -0-

Note to Editors: Bay Networks is a registered trademark and Bay Networks--Where Information Flows is a trademark of Bay Networks, Inc. Other brand and product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders.

All Bay Networks press releases are available on Bay Networks' web site at http://www.baynetworks.com or via CompuServe using GO BAYNET. Bay Networks' web site also provides information on the company's products and services, news and events, partner programs and corporate contacts.

CONTACT: FitzGerald Communications Inc. (for Bay Networks)

Stacy Breines, 415/951-4738

[e-mail]

or

Rob Bunnell, 617/494-9500 ext. 266

[e-mail]