HP BRINGS WEB-BASED DESKTOP, SERVER MANAGEMENT TO LAN ADMINISTRATION SOLUTION.

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 24, 1998--

HP OpenView Professional Suite Shipping with

New Web-based HP TopTools;

Now Bundles Integrated Help-desk, Asset-management,

Project-management Software

Hewlett-Packard Company today announced the fourth major release of HP OpenView Professional Suite -- the award-winning management software for small to midsize NetWare and Microsoft(R) Windows NT(R) networks -- strengthening its position as a leader in network and system management. The most important additions to the suite are the new Web-based HP TopTools for Desktop and HP TopTools for Servers. The Web interface is designed to enhance ease of use and expand user accessibility to the powerful built-in management capabilities of HP hardware.

Also new to the HP OpenView Professional Suite is Service Center Special Edition from STEPS: Tools Software. Service Center Special Edition, bundled with the suite, provides a help-desk system for trouble ticketing and tracking work assignments to reduce downtime, improve efficiency and enhance user satisfaction. It provides asset management with tracking of leases, warranties, service agreements, purchase orders and invoices. It also includes custom integration with Microsoft Project98 to enhance users' multiproject capabilities.

"The immediate benefits we're seeing from the OpenView Professional Suite are asset management and time savings," said Frank Lamonski, network manager at the Fresno Bee, a Fresno, Calif., daily newspaper with a circulation of more than 150,000. "The suite is giving us visibility into everything on our network, including unplanned changes made by end users. This can cut hours off everything from needs assessment to trouble-shooting to BIOS updates. Because so much of the suite is Web-based, our staff can manage the network anytime, from anywhere."

"With the addition of Service Center Special Edition, HP is significantly extending the benefits of the HP OpenView Professional Suite," said Suzanne Dennison, vice president at STEPS: Tools Software. "Customers will continue to be impressed by the suite's breadth of functionality and price/performance, and with Service Center's help-desk, asset and change management, they gain powerful tools to improve the success rate, and reduce the costs, of today's complex IT projects."

HP OpenView Professional Suite is an easy-to-use suite of 11 integrated applications for managing virtually all elements of NetWare and Windows NT workgroups, including PCs, printers, servers, network operating systems and network traffic. Workgroup Node Manager is the heart of the suite, providing a console from which network administrators can discover and map their networks, receive and forward alarms, access third-party applications and drill down into objects on the map for health and status information.

U.S. PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

The latest version of HP OpenView Professional Suite is available now for Windows(R) 95 and Windows NT and is approximately $1,495(1). It includes an unlimited evaluation copy of Network Associates' Zero Administration Client (ZAC) suite, one server license for HP OpenView Expos and a single-user license for Service Center Special Edition. Customers with an earlier version of the suite can upgrade to the new version for about $795(1).

ABOUT HP

Hewlett-Packard Company is a leading global provider of computing, Internet and intranet solutions, services, communications products and measurement solutions, all of which are recognized for excellence in quality and support. It is the second-largest computer supplier in the United States, with computer-related revenue in excess of $35.4 billion in its 1997 fiscal year. HP has 127,200 employees and had revenue of $42.9 billion in its 1997 fiscal year.

Information about HP OpenView Professional Suite can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com/go/ovwin, or by calling [phone].

----- (1) Actual prices may vary.

Microsoft, Windows and Windows NT are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

CONTACT: Cunningham Communication for HP

Jeffrey Scott, 301/608-0581

[e-mail]