PALO ALTO and SAN JOSE, Calif., December 15, 2004 - Expanding their long-term strategic, global alliance, HP and Cisco Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) today announced that they will deliver co-branded support services - via a single point of contact - to help customers maintain their enterprise networks on a global scale.

The agreement is part of Cisco's Global Services Alliance program, which was established by Cisco in June 2004. HP has been selected by Cisco for this new alliance program focused on services.

In addition, HP is the first partner to have earned Cisco's Global Certified Partner status, based on HP's global reach and investments in Cisco-certified personnel, round-the-clock operations and the ability to handle calls within an hour.

Global Services Alliance Program

Under the Cisco Systems Global Services Alliance program, HP and Cisco will initially provide a single source for network support and problem resolution, and ready access to Cisco product knowledge and expertise.

Over time, the combination of HP and Cisco offerings will be designed to address the full lifecycle of services from planning through deployment to management and support, providing greater consistency throughout the world and helping global customers to realize greater return on their network investments.

Valero Energy Corporation chose HP to integrate its chain of over 1,000 Valero and Diamond Shamrock branded gas stations and convenience stores in 11 states with an in-store network infrastructure based on Cisco Intelligent Information Network switching products. HP Services planned and managed the entire 12-week region wide installation of the Cisco switches.

"Our network infrastructure from HP and Cisco is a productivity enhancer," said Shannon Ramsey, director of Retail Systems Automation, Valero Energy Corporation. "We've gained the agility to quickly bring to market the new products and services that our customers want. HP and Cisco fit our bill very nicely. It was as if we were dealing with one company; when we dealt with HP, we were also dealing with Cisco."

To adapt to fast-changing business needs, managers in IT, networking and telecommunications need to create a network infrastructure that is agile, flexible and reliable. HP and Cisco address these issues by combining the strengths of their powerful network services organizations to provide an all-encompassing service and support solution for both local and global network infrastructures, solutions and applications.

"HP and Cisco understand that business success depends on proactive network management," said Mike Rigodanzo, senior vice president, Technology Services, HP. "Networks are a key part of the broader IT infrastructure and the effectiveness of a customer's network depends on a service provider's knowledge of that environment. This is precisely the idea behind HP Network Support combined with Cisco Services."

Cisco Global Partner Certification

The Cisco Global Partner Certification expands beyond a country or regional certification, recognizing partners who have expertise in selling and supporting Cisco solutions across multiple countries within a Cisco global region. Specifically, a Cisco Global Certified Partner has to be Multinational Certified in Americas International, EMEA and Asia Pacific as well as Gold Certified in the United States and Japan.

HP is "Gold" certified in 38 countries across the globe and is able to support global customers' entire IT infrastructures including the network, a key component of any infrastructure. HP continues to invest heavily in its network services capabilities, with more than 1,400 Cisco-certified HP professionals worldwide.

"Through our long-standing relationship and strong collaboration, HP and Cisco can combine our complementary

strengths to jointly provide seamless, end-to-end IP-based solutions and lifecycle support services across the full spectrum of networking technologies," said Wim Elfrink, senior vice president, Customer Advocacy, Cisco. "Our global customers demand business relationships across their global technology infrastructures and this alliance provides the mechanism for both companies to exceed our customers' support expectations through alignment and co-operation around the world."

As long-time [removed: industry leaders and] and alliance partners, HP and Cisco deliver comprehensive Internet business solutions and services that improve the productivity of customers' entire businesses, enabling them to realize measurable business value from their IP-based investments.

The Cisco and HP alliance combines Cisco's industry leadership in networking infrastructure with HP's leadership in global IT solutions, services, support and consulting. The companies provide customers with a single, global resource for all infrastructure, platform, application integration and services requirements - from design to deployment to support.