HiFive.net Adds Intrusion Detection Solutions From Network ICE to the HiFive! Virtual Operations Center.

Business/Hi-Tech Editors

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 30, 2000

VARs and Service Partners Can Offer State-of-the-Art

Intrusion Protection as Managed Service Providers Via the HiFive!

Virtual Operations Center 

VARs and IT service partners looking to offer robust managed security solutions to their clients got a boost today as HiFive.net announced that it is bundling Network ICE's(TM)intrusion protection solutions into the HiFive! Virtual Operations Center.

HiFive.net delivers web-based IT management capabilities for use by VARs and service partners. Using the HiFive! Virtual Operations Center, channel partners can offer IT management services such as security to their small and midsize enterprise clients.

Network security is one of the fastest-growing and most lucrative markets for VARs and service partners. According to an October 2000 press release issued by Gartner Group, Inc., "By 2003, 50 percent of small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) that manage their own network security and use the Internet for more than e-mail will experience a successful Internet attack." Addressing the security needs of their clients requires that service partners have access to sophisticated tools. With this agreement, VARs and service partners can now use the HiFive! Virtual Operations Center to deliver Network ICE's robust intrusion protection services to their clients on a subscription basis, eliminating the need to develop and maintain in-house security solutions.

"Our partnership program with HiFive.net is a milestone for Network ICE. This MSP distribution strategy offers small to midsize enterprise customers exposure to our products on a subscription basis," said Greg Gilliom, CEO of Network ICE. "HiFive.net gives us a tremendous amount of exposure to potentially thousands of VARs-turned-MSPs."

"We think that intrusion detection is an integral requirement of any IT management strategy, and we believe that Network ICE offers the industry's best intrusion detection solutions," said Dave Carver, President and CEO of HiFive.net. "If you are responsible for the health of a small-to-midsize enterprise's network, you want Network ICE to protect and detect your network for unauthorized hacks. With this agreement, you can now get those solutions from the VAR you know and trust."

Network ICE's innovative technology raised the bar in the network security industry by delivering intrusion protection (intrusion detection plus blocking) to every system and segment, inside or outside the firewall. No other products in the market offer the combination of detection and blocking for high-speed networks.

About Network ICE Corporation

Network ICE was founded in 1998 by a team of network analysis and security experts from Network General and Network Associates to solve the problem of intrusion detection and defense for high-speed networks. Network ICE provides enterprise and consumer turnkey intrusion protection and security policy management solutions. Network ICE uses patent-pending technology to protect enterprise and home users from hackers by detecting and blocking the attack, tracing the identity of the intruder and reporting the details of the attack. For more information, visit the Network ICE Web site at www.networkice.com.

About the HiFive! Virtual Operations Center

The HiFive! Virtual Operations Center consists of four services -- network assurance, security assurance, application assurance, and a Knowledge Center. Together, these services are designed to meet the practical requirements of small and mid-size business computing infrastructures, all managed through a single, integrated, Web-based management console. All the services provide both proactive and reactive capabilities, making planning and resolution easier and more efficient.

The HiFive! Virtual Operations Center is designed as the ideal complement to the technical expertise, service capabilities, and customer insight of VARs and service partners. Channel partners use the Virtual Operations Center to collect and report data, rather than installing applications and hardware at the end-user. Using HiFive!, channel partners can troubleshoot faster, plan better, and identify new and needed consulting projects and upgrades. HiFive! helps service partners move away from dependence on hardware resale revenue, and towards recurring services revenue.

About HiFive.net

HiFive.net management services ensure the performance, security, and availability of Internet-connected small and mid-size businesses. HiFive! delivers web-hosted network, security, and application assurance services, including the unique HiFive! Knowledge Center, through a customized web interface that is easy to deploy and use and requires no on-site hardware. HiFive! enables IT service partners to become management services providers, giving them ways to build recurring revenue streams via new services created for their customers. HiFive! solution partners include Cisco and 3Com, and venture funding has been provided by Red Rock Ventures, Convergence Partners, and Viventures. Additional information about HiFive! can be found at www.hifive.net.

Network ICE is a trademark of Network ICE Corporation. BlackICE Defender is a licensed trademark of Network ICE Corporation. All other companies and products listed herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.