SAN JOSE, Calif. Mar. 6, 2000 - Concentric Network Corporation (NASDAQ: CNCX), a leading provider of e-business solutions for growing companies, today announced that its applications hosting services have qualified for Cisco Powered Network status. In an effort to deliver superior reliability and advanced security, Concentric has deployed Cisco products, including the Cisco12000 and 7500 routers, and Catalyst 2900 switches, to deliver robust Web hosting, application server hosting and e-commerce solutions over a scalable, nationwide IP backbone. With a secondary market share position in Web hosting, this recognition certifies that Concentric's shared and dedicated hosting services - totaling more than 200,000 hosted Web sites - meet the stringent criteria established by Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, and its Cisco Powered Network program.
"Security and reliability are fundamental attributes of our network, and key to our strategy of serving business critical needs," said Henry R. Nothhaft, chairman, president and CEO of Concentric Network. "Receiving Cisco Powered Network certification for all of our hosting services validates Concentric's ability to provide its customers with high-performance network availability and innovative, scalable e-business solutions."
Hosting Services
This certification spans Concentric's extensive portfolio of dedicated and shared Web hosting, e-commerce solutions, e-mail, application infrastructure and other value-added application hosting services. Among the Concentric services that now bear the Cisco Powered Network designation are ConcentricHost Dedicated services, providing an ideal solution for growing businesses, Internet-centric companies and large enterprises that require their own server and high-performance hosting and management services. ConcentricHost Dedicated provides Tier One hosting centers and network backbone, scalable bandwidth, expert 24x7 server and network monitoring and ongoing maintenance and management services.
ConcentricHost Managed Server is an ideal solution for companies looking to outsource their Web hosting needs, thus enabling them to focus on their core business while Concentric provides the server, software, bandwidth and comprehensive management services. ConcentricHost Co-location allows companies that own a dedicated server, to outsource their Web hosting needs to Concentric. Distributed Server Environment (DSE) provides both Managed Server and Co-location customers with a full suite of management services, including load balancing and bandwidth management tools for enhanced Web performance needs.
CiscoPowered Network certification also differentiates Concentric's shared Web hosting, e-commerce and e-mail services, which are delivered via Concentric MetraT, the industry's first integrated platform for Internet services ordering and management. Cisco Powered Network status, connoting industry leading performance, is also a distinction of Concentric Gateway which is enabled by Concentric's proprietary Metra platform. Concentric Gateway provides a single place for Concentric customers to access a collection of best-of-breed online services, as well as, order and manage Concentric services. These task-specific applications enable users to address complete business processes, thereby enabling companies to improve their efficiency, increase their productivity and grow their businesses through online applications.
Application Infrastructure Services
Concentric's application infrastructure provider (AIP) services provide independent software vendors (ISVs) and application service providers (ASPs) with a comprehensive, outsourced infrastructure for securely delivering applications and Web-based services over the Internet or a VPN. This robust solution combines secure data center hosting with a complete set of operations and network related services specifically designed to turn software into an Internet-based service. By leveraging ConcentricAIP, companies can focus solely on the applications layer and the task of integrating applications to provide added value to their end customer. Moreover, utilizing ConcentricAIP dramatically speeds the time-to market for ASPs and ISVs.
"Concentric's shared and dedicated hosting services, with its reliability and security, offer customers New World services that we believe are key to the Internet economy," said Larry Lang, vice president of service provider marketing for Cisco. "These services complement Cisco's own high standards for reliability and security for its high-performance Internet infrastructure."
