Collagen Corp. Selects Infonet to Provide Global Network; Establishes Global Connectivity Between Its U.S. Headquarters and Hubs in Asia and Europe.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 11, 1998--Infonet Services Tuesday announced that it is providing Collagen Corp. (Nasdaq:CGEN), a manufacturer and marketer of cosmetic medical products, with its Global Frame Relay service.

The network will connect users throughout Collagen's distribution centers, located in the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Germany, with the company's hubs in Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom. The goal of Collagen's global frame relay network is to provide reliable and secure communication for staff worldwide.

Collagen Corp., with headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., provides high-quality biocompatible products for use in aesthetic and reconstructive applications. In 1998, Collagen expanded its marketing and distribution strategies to emphasize the growing market for aesthetic products and procedures and to better meet the needs and preferences of patients and physicians.

These changes included the following components:1) In-licensing and acquisition of complementary products and technologies, 2) Improved utilization of a worldwide distribution network and 3) Optimization of manufacturing infrastructure.

Defining a Communications Requirement

Olga Bean is the director of information technology, responsible for business support, network support, desktop computers and the broad variety of applications that run on them -- from financial and manufacturing software to medical and regulatory applications.

With many functions at Collagen in the process of transitioning from local to more global requirements, Bean needed to move her company from hard copy information exchange to an electronic network-based system.

As part of this transition, Collagen was developing extranets throughout the United States and outsourcing some of its data entry and programming. The need for a high-speed, reliable network to connect hubs in Tokyo and Thame, England, with corporate headquarters in Palo Alto, became more pressing. Bean's staff began laying the groundwork for establishing a global network.

Bean had two goals in contacting vendors, a growing need for a global WAN and staff to subsequently manage the global network. "We're an $80 million organization that is tying our IT strategies to changes in business processes," stated Bean. "We find that to be flexible in our applications we need to adapt new technologies as soon as they are mature enough to be reliable."

Bean's team initiated an evaluation with two suppliers and identified the following criteria: 1) The network needed to be secure and reliable, 2) The vendor selected needed to be able to support and maintain network connections around the world, 3) Outstanding customer service must be provided and 4) A long term relationship would be expected.

Bean selected Infonet to meet Collagen's needs. "It was important to us to know that the vendor we selected had longevity, was highly referenceable and would make good on any problems that might occur," stated Bean. "Infonet impressed us with its service and support -- as well as its reputation."

Infonet's customized global frame relay solution was selected. It is designed to more cost-effectively address the increasing use of frame relay to support sophisticated enterprisewide software applications.

These services, which can be offered down to the individual network connection level, provide a comprehensive range of price and performance specifications designed to match the end user response requirements for network connections. Each frame relay connection can be equipped with different data transfer rates for incoming and outgoing data.

Expanding Services and Honoring Commitments

Currently in its testing phase, Collagen is implementing its global frame relay with the six distribution centers and three hubs. According to Bean, "The frame relay network we are installing will free up my network staff; they'll recover time, decrease their administrative tasks and be able to focus more on contributing to our business objectives while also being closer to our users."

Collagen is now evaluating Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes for use on its global network. "Our challenge is to be organized and standardized," remarked Bean. Not having to staff internally to manage and maintain the network was important to Bean, who views that as a cost saving. She acknowledges that, in the process of expanding services, she was not specifically looking for cost reductions.

"Infonet's customer service has been excellent -- they are very responsive, interested in getting things done and meeting commitments," Bean declared. Paying attention to Collagen's business needs has been an Infonet priority. Concluded Bean: "I am excited about getting started. My experience with Infonet is making me very comfortable that we are on a path towards success."

Infonet Services Corp. is a world leader in providing global networking services to multinational enterprises for connectivity, Internet, intranet and electronic commerce solutions. Infonet provides a full suite of messaging and collaborative services and also markets enterprise messaging products worldwide. Infonet's global services are supported locally in 57 countries.

Infonet's World Network is currently accessible from more than 180 countries and provides "A Bridge to the Global Electronic Workplace." The company is jointly owned by a number of the world's leading telecom operators. Infonet is an ISO 9000 registered firm. For more information, call Infonet in the United States at 310/335-4700 or visit Infonet at http://www.infonet.com.

    CONTACT: Infonet Services Corp., El Segundo
              Mike Radice, 310/335-2875
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              Creative Marketing Group
              Marti Colwell, 619/458-1818