KPMG Consulting & STC Announce End-to-End Rapid Solution for HIPAA & the Business Needs of the Health Care Sector

Business Wire, July 10, 2000

Business Editors, Technology/Medical Writers

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. and McLEAN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 10, 2000

Two Companies Team to Integrate Leading Industry Software,

Accelerated Integration Services and Enhanced Security Capabilities

KPMG Consulting, LLC, a leading provider of Internet integration services, and STC (Nasdaq:STCS), a leading global provider of eBusiness Integration (eBISM) solutions, announced today that they have formed a strategic alliance and will offer a joint solution for compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for health care organizations.

HIPAA compliance affects all organizations participating in the health care process - providers, payors, life sciences firms and employers. Health care organizations are required to align both their business processes as well as their computer systems to comply with HIPAA regulations. The combination of STC's market-leading solutions, KPMG Consulting's Health Care services, and KPMG Consulting's strategic alliance with Cisco systems, represents a complete end-to-end solution to help client organizations meet HIPAA requirements quickly, help lower their risks of non-compliance, and assist in developing a secure e-business environment.

"At its core, HIPAA can really be seen as a federal mandate for health care organizations to embrace ebusiness. By working with STC, KPMG Consulting has teamed with a leader in ebusiness integration solutions," said Harry Gould, vice president of alliances for STC. "This offering is unique in that it provides pre-defined templates, using KPMG Consulting's proven R2i methodology, to enable rapid deployment of STC's HIPAAware product. This collaboration using both companies' strategic products and services can ensure compliance with HIPAA mandates in a low-risk, high-return manner."

    HIPAA R2i, KPMG Consulting and STC's comprehensive solution,
offers health care organizations the following:

    -   STC's HIPAAware Offering:

        -   e*GateTM Integrator, the industry's first open strategic
            eBusiness platform, provides the connectivity within and
            among the diverse systems and applications that
            participate in the HIPAA transactions.

        -   e*Xchange(TM) Integrator, allows organizations to
            EDI-enable their integration infrastructure without
            purchasing separate EDI modules for all their
            applications.

        -   e*Index(TM) Global Identifier, a leading Enterprise Master
            Person Index (EMPI) solution, provides enterprise-scale
            cross-indexing solutions in real time for millions of
            transactions.

    -   KPMG Consulting's Rapid Return on Investment (R2i) solution:

        -   includes pre-configured applications, industry specific
            customizations, project management, change management and
            pre-configured technology infrastructure, and provides
            companies with the opportunity to receive benefits from
            their technology investment.

        -   KPMG Consulting's Experience in health care consulting and
            secure Internet implementations.

        -   KPMG Consulting's e-Learning Solutions, a Web-based
            training portal that can help health care companies with
            HIPAA compliance by educating employees on the new
            regulations.

Linda Rebrovick, executive vice president for KPMG Consulting's Health Care industry business, notes that the issues facing the health care industry go beyond technology. "If planned and executed correctly, health care organizations can leverage HIPAA compliance into improved business processes while transforming for the e-health, e-business market place. The HIPAA R2i solution should help many health care organizations to achieve accelerated implementation and e-transformation, while meeting the new federal regulations for privacy."

KPMG Consulting's strategic alliance with Cisco Systems is committed to delivering innovative, end-to-end business solutions that help clients achieve rapid and strategic business benefits. The HIPAA solution is another example of how the alliance can benefit clients. Cisco offers a variety of security solutions, including threat assessments and comprehensive security software and hardware offerings that help address the identity, integrity, and audit requirements of the HIPAA regulations.

About STC

STC (Nasdaq:STCS) is the leading global provider of eBusiness Integration (eBISM) solutions enabling the seamless flow of information within and among enterprises. With its flagship solution, e*Xchange eBusiness Integration Suite, STC provides the industry's first comprehensive strategic eBusiness infrastructure to unlock the true potential of eBusiness with unprecedented performance and reliability. Since shipping its first product in 1991, STC has successfully integrated systems at more than 1,200 leading organizations worldwide. Just a few of STC's customers include Barnes & Noble.com, Fluor Corporation, HypoVereinsbank, Maersk Sealand, PETsMART, Sony and Warner Lambert. STC is headquartered in Redwood Shores, Calif. For more information, please visit www.stc.com.