Comdisco Managed Network Services Redefine Market; Now Single Source for Network Services That Stress Control, Performance, Availability.

ROSEMONT, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 15, 1999--

Building on its reputation for implementing and managing networks, Comdisco today unveiled an expanded suite of managed network services, designed to maximize customers' network performance and availability, and give customers access to a broad suite of network services from a single provider.

Comdisco is expanding its network services to offer companies a single source solution that covers every stage of a network's lifecycle, from planning and building to managing and evolving. The comprehensive suite of services is closely coupled with customers' business goals and spans the enterprise infrastructure, from the network to the server to the desktop.

Comdisco will also offer packaged service portfolios that address customers' specific business or technology challenges. Portfolios include lifecycle performance, application, security, convergence and virtual private network solutions.

"The network is so strategic in delivering global enterprise initiatives that increasingly, network decisions are being made at the highest levels of the organization," said Rafael Osso, president, Comdisco Network Services. "Comdisco helping our customers to maximize their return on investment in network infrastructure through demonstrating the values of network security, availability and reliability. It's clear Comdisco is meeting a marketplace need. We're currently on plan to record an almost five-fold increase in managed network services sales over last year.

"Comdisco's leadership in infrastructure management and business continuity services is the foundation for the suite of network services we're announcing," Osso said. "Building on this legacy and leveraging our vendor independence, Comdisco has become the single source solution in delivering on all of a customer's network requirements. "

Comdisco's network services model includes suites of services designed for each stage of the network lifecycle:

-    Plan - Focuses on aligning network strategies to support business
     goals

-    Build - Includes designing and implementing networks, including
     equipment procurement and deployment, and circuit provisioning

-    Manage - Assures network performance, and availability

-    Evolve - Manages to the organization's changing business needs
     and their impact on existing networks.

Each suite has service elements with individual pricing, so customers can engage Comdisco for a particular service need, outtask some or all of a technology or business challenge or select a portfolio of services that represents each lifecycle stage, but simplifies choices and options.

To address the growing challenge of a distributed workforce, Comdisco is working with its subsidiary, Prism Communication Services, Inc., to develop key telework solutions for its corporate customers. These solutions are designed to facilitate communication utilizing digital subscriber line (DSL) technology and to provide work-at-home professionals with the applications and resources, normally available in the office, which will greatly impact their productivity.

"Without laying out and building a reliable, scalable, and available network infrastructure on which to run the business' critical applications, enterprises are throwing time and money away, undermining the very business goals they're trying to achieve," said Ellen Carney, Principal Analyst, Dataquest. "But at the same time, it's just not good business sense to have their strategic IT staffs engaged in network planning and management. Organizations are looking for vendors that can take that pain away, while at the same time delivering nearly continuous availability."

Visit the managed network services web site at www.comdisco.com/network.

About Comdisco

Comdisco (www.comdisco.com) provides global technology management services to help its customers maximize technology functionality, predictability and availability, while freeing them from the complexity of managing their technology. The Rosemont, (IL) company offers a complete suite of information technology services including continuity, managed network services, and IT control and predictability solutions. Through its subsidiary, Prism Communication Services Inc., Comdisco is developing a high-speed, always-on digital network, which will provide customers with leading-edge connectivity. Comdisco also offers equipment acquisition services through its electronics, communications, medical, lab & scientific, and computer-integrated manufacturing businesses, and through its ventures group. The company's revenue for the 12 months ended June 30, 1999, was $4.1 billion.