[March 11, 2002]

VanguardMS Launches Careguard Program For Managed Service Providers

Vanguard Managed Solutions (VanguardMS) announced a new services program targeting a greater share of the burgeoning managed service provider (MSP) market . The "Careguard" program will address a growing, global demand -- which the Yankee Group says could be as large as $7.4 billion by 2004 -- for a services model that will bolster customer satisfaction through proactive network management supporting each stage in a network's lifecycle.

The new VanguardMS Careguard offering consists of a unique five-step approach to network strategy, design, implementation, operations, and on-going support. The introduction of Careguard underscores the company's commitment to providing customers with flexible levels of reliability and enhanced overall network performance via a comprehensive lifecycle approach.

"With a focused delivery of managed network services, from initial concept and design to truly delivering a tangible ROI, VanguardMS squarely positions itself as a vendor to watch as outsourcing remains a leading market segment for 2002," said Sandra Palumbo, communications analyst at Yankee Group. "Their comprehensive offerings, deep understanding of niche markets including banking, retail, and education, and more than 15 years experience underscores the company's knowledge and expertise, while their growing customer base is testimony to the trust that has been invested by their brand-name clients."

For customers, VanguardMS' Careguard addresses the need for customer value and satisfaction possible only through full vendor accountability. Unlike any other managed network services offering, VanguardMS' approach is based on an in-depth understanding of its clients' market niche and individual network needs. VanguardMS customers can get the level of service specific to their business needs and can adapt their service levels accordingly. Together, VanguardMS and its customers define a network strategy to align with business goals, including adhering to specific service level agreements, specified `9's' of reliability, and proactive network management. The end result, customers trust their network to VanguardMS so they can focus on their core business.

The Careguard lifecycle service management offering consists of the following:

• Strategy: jointly determining a customers' specific network needs and aligning them with strategic business goals.
• Design: leverage existing investments and integrating new technologies to maximize the network or create a new network based on current and future business needs.
• Implementation: conduct full scale network testing of software, hardware and protocols in VanguardMS' Network Operations Center prior to customer delivery as well as expert program management to coordinate with the other vendors, i.e., carriers and customer personnel, to ensure the network is ready for immediate deployment.
• Operations: 24/7 monitoring and maintenance of the network through VanguardMS' NOC, dedicated client account staff, and predictive management to identify and fix potential problems prior to affecting the network.
• On-going support: complete range from accommodating business changes, new technologies, on-site support, etc. to allow businesses to focus on their core strengths while VanguardMS manages the network.

"Businesses today are finding that outsourcing their network management alleviates the challenges associated with being competitively focused on their core business and trying to tackle the nuances of today's complex networks. Our customer base consistently experiences full network uptime and reliability guaranteed by their specified level of `9's that is in accordance with their SLA," said Rick Lane, president and chief executive officer, Vanguard Managed Solutions. "We introduce Careguard as further evidence of our belief that we serve as a strategic partner to our customers through every stage in their network lifecycle."

Truly differentiating Careguard is its enhanced managed services, predictive management, and real-time reporting capabilities. By allowing customers to scale their level and terms of services provides flexibility and customization tailored to specific business needs. Building on the enhanced managed services is Careguard's predictive management that spots trends and potential network problems before they impact business processes. In fact, VanguardMS conducted analysis of customer networks and has found that proactive network management has averted 97 percent of network problems. Through its real-time reporting capabilities, VanguardMS analyzes network performance on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis, depending on customer needs. Additional network visibility through the Web delivers a collaborative management environment for identifying and correcting potential problems.

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