Synchrony Signs Data Center Hosting Agreement With NaviSite; Fast-Growing Electronic Customer Relationship Management Software Company Selects NaviSite for Managed Hosting Services

Business Wire, March 30, 2000

Business Editors, High-Tech Writers

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 30, 2000

Synchrony Communications Inc., a leading provider of web-native, remote-hosted relationship management solutions for e-business, today announced an agreement with NaviSite, Inc. (Nasdaq:NAVI), a leading ASP and Web-hosting company and a majority-owned operating company of CMGI, Inc. Under terms of the agreement, NaviSite will provide proactive monitoring and ongoing management and maintenance for Synchrony out of the company's Andover, MA and San Jose, CA state-of-the-art data centers. As a member of NaviSite's ISV/ASP program, Synchrony will also benefit from the promotional and professional services features NaviSite has to offer.

Founded in 1997, Synchrony has quickly grown to a customer base of more than 30 businesses that use Synchrony's electronic customer relationship management (eCRM) software to manage relationships via the Web and traditional analog telephone lines. Because Synchrony's customers access Synchrony eCRM remotely, the growth in the company's customer base has resulted in a need for additional data center capacity.

"As fast as we've grown, we expect to more than triple our customer base this year," said Sam Boggs III, Synchrony's executive vice president of operations. "We need a partner that can scale as quickly as we are. NaviSite has the facilities, the experience, and the operations team to handle that kind of growth."

NaviSite's network platform provides high-bandwidth, state-of-the-art network and Internet connections and is monitored 24x7 by its Network Operations Centers. In addition to NaviSite carrier class data centers with connections to multiple Internet backbone providers, the company offers advanced management options. By handling the monitoring and management of customers' applications and web sites, NaviSite allows corporations to concentrate on their core competencies.

In addition to hosting Synchrony's operations, NaviSite and Synchrony will work together to jointly add clients to both companies' rosters. Under the agreement, Synchrony becomes part of NaviSite's Independent Software Vendor program as NaviSite's customer relationship management solution of choice.

NaviSite's ISV/ASP Program offers companies like Synchrony a package of infrastructure, application management and monitoring, and co-marketing services that allow Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and ASPs to offload the hosting and management of Web applications and minimize up-front capital investment.

"Synchrony's business model takes great advantage of the Internet as a business tool," said Pierre Bouchard, director of product marketing for NaviSite. "And while dramatic spikes in Web site activity can be a challenge for Synchrony's customers, they know that through Synchrony's relationship with NaviSite, they have the ability to quickly expand capacity to manage a dramatic increase in traffic to their sites. That kind of responsiveness is what has led to Synchrony's growth. We look forward to playing a key role in helping them continue on that remarkable growth path."

Synchrony eCRM is delivered as a subscription service via the Internet, which reduces implementation costs and time and eliminates many of the risks of traditional CRM investments. Clients pay usage costs as they are incurred, and adding additional agents to the existing contact center is as simple as adding a PC with an Internet connection and a phone. Because Synchrony eCRM is remote-hosted, customer service demands do not impact site infrastructure.

About NaviSite, Inc.

NaviSite, Inc., is a leading provider of outsourced Web hosting and application services for companies conducting mission-critical business on the Internet. The company's goal is to help customers focus on their core competencies by outsourcing the management and hosting of mission critical Web sites and applications. NaviSite is a majority-owned operating company of CMGI, Inc. with minority investment from Microsoft Corporation.

NaviSite's SiteHarbor(R) solutions provide secure, reliable, co-location and high-performance hosting services, including high-performance Internet access, and high-availability server management solutions through load balancing, clustering, mirroring and storage services. In addition, NaviSite's enhanced management services, beyond basic co-location and hosting, are designed to meet the expanding needs of businesses as their Web sites and Internet applications become more complex and as their needs for outsourcing all aspects of their online businesses intensify. The company's application services, which include application hosting, management and rental, provide cost-effective access to, as well as rapid deployment and reliable operation of, business-critical applications, including managed services for streaming.

For more information about NaviSite, please visit www.navisite.com or by phone on the East Coast call 888.298.8222, on the West Coast call 888.755.5525. NaviSite is headquartered at 400 Minuteman Road, Andover, MA 01810.