Teltech Resource Network Corp. Deploys CA's Unicenter TNG to Update and Optimize Its Information Technology Infrastructure.

ISLANDIA, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--February 25, 1998--

Major Research Company Taps Unicenter TNG For Advanced Performance

Monitoring, Help Desk, Software Delivery And Asset Management

Capabilities

Computer Associates International, Inc. (CA) today announced that Teltech Resource Network Corp. (Teltech), a leading independent provider of research and content-management services, has selected CA's Unicenter TNG as a part of an aggressive program to update and optimize its information technology infrastructure. Unicenter TNG is also being used by Teltech's network outsourcing partner - Network Guidance Co. - to monitor and manage critical elements of Teltech's IT environment.

"Unicenter TNG will help provide an operating environment that facilitates research, synthesis and analysis of information by minimizing the distractions for our knowledge analysts," said Ron Helgeson, Teltech vice president. "Unicenter TNG will perform a variety of roles that have a positive impact on Teltech's bottom line business objectives."

According to Jim Kivel, Teltech director of information services, Unicenter TNG will help ensure that Teltech receives the best possible service from its outsourcing agent, Network Guidance Company - a Minneapolis, Minn.-based CA Business Partner and Unicenter TNG Reseller. As part of a recently signed agreement, Network Guidance provides network administration and upgrade services, as well as ongoing support for Teltech's networks. Unicenter TNG allows Network Guidance to manage Teltech's Windows NT servers on-site, and provides comprehensive application and database management capabilities.

As a leading Unicenter TNG Reseller, Network Guidance was responsible for initially introducing CA's enterprise management technology to Teltech. Kivel and his staff soon discovered Unicenter TNG's important advantages and embraced the solution.

"Today, Unicenter TNG provides a way for us to monitor Network Guidance's accomplishments," said Kivel. "We are also using it for performance monitoring, and the manager/agent technology is being utilized to manage critical system resources such as disk space, memory utilization, and critical system processes."

Teltech's deployment of Unicenter TNG, and its network outsourcing agreement with Network Guidance Company, are part of a technology infrastructure initiative begun in March 1997. "We determined that our IS staff was doing mostly network and system related support tasks, rather than actual customer application development work," said Kivel. "We decided it would be best to outsource IT management and use our internal skill sets more effectively."

Teltech began its IT infrastructure overhaul by consolidating servers and operating systems. The company's goal is to replace 25 PC-based LAN servers with a Data General Aviion Model 3600R symmetrical multiprocessing server running Microsoft Windows NT. It has also deployed a 72 gigabyte RAID 5 CLARiiON Disk Array to support databases used by Teltech analysts.

Teltech is also replacing desktop operating systems with Microsoft Windows and standardizing desktop software images to ease support requirements. Unicenter TNG's Software Delivery option will deliver software patches and upgrades nationwide to Teltech employees who access systems and databases through a combination of dial-up, network and direct server connections.

Once a common desktop image has been deployed, Unicenter TNG performance monitoring will be extended to all desktops. Teltech is also implementing Unicenter TNG's Advanced Help Desk (AHD), Software Delivery and Asset Management components as part of its IT modernization initiative.

"Unicenter TNG's Asset Management and Software Delivery components will add sanity to the infrastructure management process," said Kivel. "Unicenter TNG offers an excellent way to track where everything is installed, to gather statistics that let us know when upgrades are necessary, and to know what software is installed where. Once all of the desktops are standardized, we will use Software Delivery to help us with the huge task of keeping all workstations on the same software version."

Kivel's staff is also in the process of building a knowledge base for AHD, and beginning full-scale implementation of the solution. Once the knowledge base is implemented, it will allow Teltech to deploy a comprehensive service desk using technical and non-technical personnel.

The combination of infrastructure improvements, network administration outsourcing and Unicenter TNG deployment is already providing gains for Teltech - for example, by providing the means to keep its IS support staff small and productive. "We have actually been able to reduce our support budget," said Kivel. "At the same time, better network management through Unicenter TNG is enabling us to become more productive. We estimate that we are seeing 1.5 hours per month more productivity per person with this arrangement."

Thus far, nearly 65 percent of Teltech's desktops have been converted to the new desktop image, and the complete Unicenter TNG deployment was completed in mid-February. In the meantime, Kivel is cultivating improved skills among his staff. "We are developing our employees, getting them certified in the new operating systems and networks, and in Unicenter TNG," said Kivel.

Unicenter TNG is an integrated enterprise management solution that enables organizations to manage all IT resources, encompassing heterogeneous networks, systems, applications, and databases. It provides comprehensive end-to-end enterprise management for TCP/IP, SNA, IPX/SPX and DECnet networks, and 40 platforms including desktops, Windows NT, UNIX, AS/400, NetWare and mainframe environments.

Unicenter TNG is the only fully integrated management solution covering network discovery, topology, performance, events and status, security, software distribution, storage, workload, help desk, change management and other functions for traditional and distributed computing environments, as well as for the Internet and intranets. Unicenter TNG's intelligent manager/agent technology delivers highly scalable management of the entire computing environment, including hardware and software.

Computer Associates International, Inc. (NYSE: CA), with headquarters in Islandia, N.Y., is the world leader in mission-critical business software. The company develops, licenses and supports more than 500 integrated products that include enterprise computing and information management, application development, manufacturing and financial applications. CA has over 11,000 people in 160 offices in 43 countries and had revenue of $4.5 billion in calendar year 1997. CA can be reached by visiting http://www.cai.com on the World Wide Web, emailing [e-mail], or calling 1-516-342-5224.

Teltech is the acknowledged leader in providing research and content-management services to the R&D and business development functions of technology-driven companies. Teltech uses its research capabilities, proprietary knowledge-transfer systems and understanding of client business processes to deliver filtered technical and business intelligence to the desktop. Its services include primary and secondary research, access to technical and industry experts, supplier research, and in-depth technology and market assessments. In addition, Teltech's consulting services assist clients in optimizing access to internal and external information and knowledge through more effective content management. The company's client base includes half of the Fortune 500. Teltech can be reached by phone at [phone], by fax at [phone], or via the World Wide Web at http://www.teltech.com. -0- All product names referenced are the trademarks of their respective companies.

CONTACT: Kathy Gargano, [phone] or [e-mail]