News release

Compaq Redefines IT Landscape with Adaptive Infrastructure

Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE: CPQ) today announced its vision for 'adaptive infrastructure' addressing the rapidly changing and critical business needs that drive IT organizations in companies of all sizes. In support of its vision, Compaq unveiled a blueprint for adaptive infrastructure that enables customers to adapt to changing market conditions, conserve valuable human and technology resources, and rapidly respond to their customers in a dynamic business climate. This blueprint sets the foundation for the next generation of Compaq ProLiant server-based technologies and solutions.

"Information technology has become an imperative to meeting business objectives in a Web-enabled, global marketplace," said Mary McDowell, senior vice president and general manager, Compaq Industry Standard Server Group. "Organizations are faced with economic pressures, complex integration issues, scarce resources, and fluctuating demand. Compaq is investing in technologies for adaptive infrastructure that enable customers to maximize their existing IT investments while adapting easily to the changes necessary to remain competitive."

Blueprint for Adaptive Infrastructure

In the adaptive infrastructure, Compaq envisions the evolution of a virtual data center architecture that is flexible, pervasive, cost-effective, universally manageable, and available to companies of all sizes. The adaptive infrastructure blueprint is based on unifying industry standards for hardware, software, and interconnects—key to driving down the overall costs of computing while enabling value-added innovations and adaptability for specific customer needs. Scalability, another key attribute, allows companies with the smallest data 'closet' to those with the largest data centers to take advantage of the technologies that power the adaptive infrastructure. And when integrated with solutions and services, the adaptive infrastructure extends the ability of businesses to adapt to change, conserve resources, and respond to their customer needs—providing uninterrupted quality of service.

Specifically, the adaptive infrastructure blueprint requires innovative software and hardware technologies that enable anytime, anywhere management and adaptability, to meet customers' needs for virtual presence and control and a range of advanced provisioning and management capabilities, such as:

• Virtual presence and control – with secure access and control to compute, storage, and network resources, regardless of where those resources are located
• Automated system provisioning – automating resource-intensive lifecycle tasks in the areas of deployment and change management
• Intelligent fault resilience – the ability to reduce exposure to unplanned downtime through automated software and hardware tools that predict, diagnose, and respond immediately to potential fault conditions
• Dynamic resource scaling – real-time, dynamic delivery of computing resources when needed, wherever needed

With adaptive infrastructure, Compaq is driving down not only the upfront costs of technology through industry standards, but also looking beyond the initial purchase price to reducing the more significant lifecycle management costs.

"Compaq clearly understands the direction of the computing industry and the dynamic nature of a global economy that requires companies to stay agile and respond on a dime to changing business conditions," said Vernon Turner, vice president, Global Enterprise Server Solutions at International Data Corporation. "Compaq's vision for an adaptive infrastructure offers protection for customers' existing investments, innovates around standards to drive new value into the industry, and provides a pathway to a computing model that will benefit companies around the world for years to come."

"Like many organizations we are challenged with containing costs and at the same time meeting the increasing demands placed upon our IT infrastructure. Resources are at a premium and we want to automate resource-intensive processes, increase the availability of applications, and dynamically scale to meet the demands of our rapidly changing business," said Niraj Patel, CIO of GMAC Commercial Mortgage Division. "Compaq's Adaptive Infrastructure vision gives us confidence that Compaq is investing in the right technologies to enable GMAC to effectively manage our IT infrastructure today and be prepared for whatever requirements may come in the future."

Compaq Industry-Defining Technologies Roadmap

Responding to customer challenges, Compaq will bring many of the benefits of adaptive infrastructure to market through its innovative ProLiant software technologies, as well as through Compaq Global Services and industry partnerships. Compaq is increasing its already significant investment in software and software tools, which are critical to delivering virtual presence and control, automation and intelligence, and adaptability of the technology environment.

In early 2002, Compaq will redefine server value with the introduction of ProLiant Essentials Software. Every ProLiant server will be delivered with a ProLiant Essentials Foundation Pack, which will include Compaq Insight Manager and SmartStart at no charge. In addition, new ProLiant Essentials Value Packs will be available for sale to all ProLiant customers, providing a range of advanced capabilities that address customers' requirements for virtual presence, automated control, and the ability to deliver uncompromised quality of service to their customers. These systems software options will be available for the existing ProLiant ML and DL server lines, and will enhance solutions such as Compaq's Capacity on Demand.

Proliant BL Server Line

These systems software capabilities will be also be a key feature of the forthcoming ProLiant BL server line—formerly code-named QuickBlade—which will be shipping in volume in early 2002. The ProLiant BL Line is the first comprehensive server infrastructure engineered specifically for adaptive computing, incorporating blade servers, an intelligent rack infrastructure, and management software. With the ProLiant BL Line, Compaq is advancing its capabilities for customers with the most dynamic data center environments.

The ProLiant BL server portfolio will include a combination of low-power, hyper density front-end blade servers ideally suited for applications such as Web serving, and robust, high-performance 2P and 4P blades for more demanding and complex enterprise applications.

Through the new ProLiant Essentials Software and other innovative engineering designs, the ProLiant BL servers will offer unprecedented capabilities such as rip-and-replace servers with automated personality migration for multiple server deployment, and dynamic scale-out. These capabilities will enable customers to adapt, conserve, and respond to changing requirements by dramatically reducing the time and resources needed to deploy, manage, and maintain hundreds or thousands of servers, remotely or locally.

Early in the first quarter of 2002, Compaq will provide additional details of the ProLiant Essentials Software and the ProLiant BL server line, as well as additional industry-defining technologies as it delivers on its blueprint for the adaptive infrastructure. Compaq will also continue to expand its systems software capabilities for ProLiant servers throughout 2002 and beyond.

Company Background

Founded in 1982, Compaq Computer Corporation ("Compaq") is a leading global provider of enterprise technology and solutions. Compaq designs, develops, manufactures and markets hardware, software, solutions and services, including industry-leading enterprise storage and computing solutions, fault-tolerant business-critical solutions, communication products, and desktop and portable personal computers that are sold in more than 200 countries. Information on Compaq and its products and services is available at http://www.compaq.com.