News release

New Compaq Program Offers Service Providers Industry-Leading Certification

Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE: CPQ) has designed a new certification program to review Service Providers' (SPs) computing infrastructure and IT management practices, enabling them to deliver unsurpassed service to their customers.

The Compaq SP Certification Program, available globally, is based on an assessment of IT service management processes in relation to industry-best practices, including IT Infrastructure Library guidelines⁽¹⁾. Certification is performed by Compaq Global Services Business Critical Consultants and offered at two levels—SP Signature Certified and SP Certified.

Unlike other similar programs in the industry, quality is the chief criterion for becoming certified.

"Compaq's program has several unique characteristics that set it apart from competing certification programs," said John Madden, industry analyst at Summit Strategies Inc. in Boston. "For example, a service provider is not required to make a commitment to purchase Compaq hardware or services in order to be certified. In addition, the scope of Compaq's availability assessment—which includes IT management, network configuration, and an SP's hosting environment—helps ensure the delivery of quality services to an SP's end customers."

Attaining the SP Signature Certified level requires a comprehensive end-to-end on-site review of the service being certified, with the SP receiving recognition of certification, preferred listing on the Compaq SP Certification Web site, access to a virtual technical library, SP Certification Advisory Board membership, participation in an SP award program, as well as access to all of the benefits extended to SP Certified partners.

SP Certified partners undergo an on-site evaluation of the infrastructure used to deliver the service being certified, with the SP receiving recognition of certification, listing on the Compaq SP Certification Web site, participation in a quarterly technical webcast and membership to the Compaq Service Provider Advantage (SPA) Program. The SPA Program provides additional marketing and technical benefits.

"The Compaq SP Certification Program provides guidance and confidence to companies outsourcing their e-business requirements to service providers," said Sean Hehir, managing director of the Compaq Worldwide Service Provider Business Unit. "The program includes a rigorous assessment of an SP's IT systems and validates services running on the full range of Compaq platforms and storage, assessing six domains of availability."

Certification is global in scope, ensuring that an SP meets consistent quality standards in each of its data centers worldwide.

"Achieving Compaq SP Certification demonstrates that the SP is able to consistently deliver reliable services to its customers and represents an investment in quality that can increase customer confidence and enhance business growth," said Jerry Coffey, director of Compaq Business Critical Services.

"Data Return is pleased to be a charter member in Compaq's SP Certification Program," said Joe Sparks, vice president of Business Development for Data Return Corp. "By participating in the program, Data Return continues to set ourselves apart by confirming our expertise on the Compaq platform. This intimate knowledge of Compaq's industry-standard ProLiant™ server platform enables us to deliver a higher standard of managed hosting to our customers."

Leading SPs that contributed to the development of the program and are in the process of being SP Signature Certified, include Data Return, Digex, Digital Island, EDS, Exodus and USInternetworking. In addition, Diveo, Impsat and Innerhost have initiated the process to complete SP Signature certification.

"Compaq certification helps provide defined and superior service in accordance with the highest standards of industry practice," said Mark Fowle, CEO of Attenda Ltd., a leading European SP that has already secured SP Signature Certified status. "The program ensures our customers receive the highest quality of service and solutions in a cost-effective manner, with the level of satisfaction expected from Compaq."

A certification advisory board will be appointed to drive ongoing development of program criteria to keep pace with changing technology and customer requirements.

Additional information on the Compaq SP Certification Program is available at http://www.compaq.com/enterprise/sp/cert.html.

About Compaq

Compaq Computer Corporation, a Fortune Global 100 company, is a leading global provider of technology and solutions. Compaq designs, develops, manufactures, and markets hardware, software, solutions, and services, including industry-leading enterprise computing solutions, fault-tolerant business-critical solutions, and communications products, commercial desktop and portable products, and consumer PCs that are sold in more than 200 countries. Information on Compaq and its products and services is available at http://www.compaq.com.

Notes:

¹ Information about the Information Technology Infrastructure Library is available online at http://www.itil.co.uk.

Compaq and the Compaq logo Registered U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others: market conditions, particularly in the U.S.; increased competitive environment and pricing pressures; disruptions related to restructuring activity and delays in the implementation of changes in delivery models. Further information on these and other factors that could affect Compaq's financial results is included in Compaq's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including the latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and the latest quarterly report on Form 10-Q.