Comdisco Maximizes Technology Investments and Performance for Over 30 CHRISTUS Health Hospitals and Ministries With $21 Million IT Control and Predictability Solution.

Business Editors

ROSEMONT, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 22, 2000

Comdisco Inc. (NYSE:CDO), a global technology services company, announced today a $21 million, five year agreement to deliver Information Technology Control and Predictability (IT CAP) Solutions to CHRISTUS Health, one of the top ten largest Catholic health systems in the nation. Through this customized, Web-enabled service featuring on-demand analyses of a client's IT expenditures and utilization, Comdisco is helping CHRISTUS Health build a more strategic, cost-effective IT management program to support its continuum of care.

CHRISTUS Health, an organization consisting of over 30 hospitals, long-term care facilities and clinics, formed in 1999 as a result of the consolidation of two major Texas-based, Catholic healthcare systems, the Sisters of Charity Healthcare System and the Incarnate Word Healthcare System. Because the consolidation brought together two different technology environments with multiple infrastructures, CHRISTUS Health needed a flexible Y2K desktop remediation program for over 2,000 desktops as well as a standardized, integrated approach to technology procurement, tracking and upgrades. Overall, Comdisco will manage a total of 12,000 assets for CHRISTUS Health.

"Today's healthcare industry is in the midst of a digital revolution - and with converging financial, regulatory and organizational pressures at hand, technology choices are becoming more complex by the minute," said Thomas Flohr, President, IT CAP Solutions. "By providing streamlined access to vendor-independent technology information and expertise, we are helping hospitals around the world make informed, far-sighted IT investment decisions that are integral in maintaining high-quality patient care and a competitive edge."

Comdisco is providing CHRISTUS Health with the control and predictability they require with a centralized, Web-based information repository for desktop and healthcare IT acquisition, expenditures tracking, financial management, and billing consolidation and chargeback information. All of this data is presented through easy-to-read reports that can be accessed on-demand. In addition, Comdisco is supplying business impact analysis services to help them formulate a sound continuity and recovery plan.

"We have been delighted with the creativity and the capability of Comdisco, as well as their flexibility in delivering useful service and financing vehicles to the table with us," said George Conklin, Senior Vice President Information Management at CHRISTUS Health.

Through Comdisco's IT CAP Solutions, CHRISTUS Health is privy to Comdisco's market expertise on IT spending, technology directions and management strategies - allowing the company to more efficiently keep pace with rapidly changing technology and business initiatives. The service not only automates the IT procurement, payment process and expenditures tracking functions - eliminating cumbersome paper-based processes - it also provides up-to-date visibility of hardware, software, services and other IT spending. In addition, the service allows for single-point-of-contact billing and invoice reconciliation, as well as chargeback reporting of all IT costs by location, division, project or user for more accurate cost accountability.

About Comdisco, Inc.

Comdisco (www.comdisco.com) provides global technology 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 business continuity, managed network services, and IT Control and Predictability Solutions (SM). 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 services to key vertical industries, including electronics, communications, laboratory & scientific, and industrial automation. Through its Ventures group, Comdisco is a leader in providing equipment leasing and other financing and services to venture capital backed start-up companies. The company's revenue for the 12 months ended December 31, 1999, was $4.1 billion.

Comdisco is a registered trademark of Comdisco, Inc. Other company names are trademarks of their respective organizations.