News release

Compaq to Build Next Generation Customer Relationship Environment for Target Corporation

Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE: CPQ) today announced that Target Corporation has chosen Compaq's Zero Latency Enterprise (ZLE) architecture to redefine its customer relationship management (CRM) model and provide a foundation for increasingly innovative guest services.

The Target implementation of ZLE, based on Compaq'sNonStop Himalayaserver and database platform, will enable the retailer to optimize and leverage customer interactions across its enterprise by ensuring real-time access to information. This technology creates opportunities for unified guest services by integrating touch points whether a customer is shopping in the store or online.

"Compaq has been a great technology partner of Target Corporation for more than 20 years," said Paul Singer, CIO, Target Corporation. "What caught our attention with this technology is its ability to support a mixed workload that includes both real-time transactions and analytical processing. This is a competitive advantage for our organization. It allows us to skip a generation and move even faster towards achieving our guest service initiatives."

"Our work with Target is a prime example of how Compaq ZLE helps customers create and enable real-time enterprises," said Howard Elias, Compaq senior vice president and general manager, Business Critical Server Group. "We appreciate the opportunity to partner with Target to build a real-time CRM environment, and to see the significant competitive advantage it provides to their business."

ZLE Brings Real Time to the Enterprise

ZLE is a transaction-oriented solution providing a single, integrated view of business and customer transactions as they occur, no matter where they occur in the enterprise, in real time. In a zero latency environment, the flow of internal information is accelerated to the point where transactions are instantaneously propagated within the enterprise and can be acted upon in real time. Gartner, which originated the zero latency concept, forecasts that almost every successful business will have some form of ZLE infrastructure. Compaq is building ZLE solutions today aimed at the highly competitive telecommunications, finance, and retail markets where immediate insight into customer actions and business transactions offers a compelling advantage.

In the retail industry, many companies are moving quickly to deploy advanced CRM solutions that are increasingly real-time-based. Gene Alvarez, program director with META, said, "By 2002/03, we believe the leading bricks and clicks e-tailers will be those that have interwoven their operations infrastructure and CRM technologies to support engagement, fulfillment, transaction and service across all customer channels equally. Moreover, we believe that organizations that desire multi-channel e-tailing solutions will make investments in these solutions during 2001/2002."

About Target

Target Corporation operates large-store general merchandise formats, including discount stores, moderate-priced promotional and traditional department stores. The company currently operates 1,306 stores in 46 states. This includes 976 Target stores, 266 Mervyn's stores and 64 Department stores.