Byram Healthcare Selects NetApp Fibre Channel SAN and Data ONTAP 7G Software as Foundation for Proactive HIPAA Compliance Program

Business Wire, June 21, 2005

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Network Appliance, Inc. (Nasdaq:NTAP) today announced that Byram Healthcare has deployed a NetApp(R) Fibre Channel SAN solution to help address regulatory compliance concerns associated with the United States Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the April 2005 compliance deadline for medical records security. Core to the solution is NetApp Data ONTAP(TM) 7G software with FlexVol(TM), a dynamic virtualization technology that enables Byram to manage its rapid data growth and scale its storage resources easily and cost effectively.

Byram Healthcare is a leading specialist in home medical supplies for diabetes management, ostomy care, wound management, urology, and incontinence. Byram deployed a NetApp SAN solution to support multiple critical applications, including an Informix-based ERP system utilized for purchasing, billing, accounting, prescriptions, and patient medical records. The transition from Byram's direct-attached storage (DAS) environment to the NetApp unified storage architecture represents a major milestone in the company's strategy to build a highly secure and reliable data storage infrastructure.

"Protecting data, including sensitive customer information, ranks at the top of our priority stack," said Richard Entrup, chief information officer at Byram Healthcare. "Byram is committed to aggressively working to comply with HIPAA regulations to ensure that our data is safe and accessible."

Entrup continued, "The NetApp Fibre Channel SAN solution has been instrumental to Byram's adherence to HIPAA regulations and has enabled us to meet the April 2005 compliance deadline for medical records security. Additionally, overall system performance has improved more than 30 percent since deploying NetApp. The redundant NetApp storage environment also reduces potential downtime risks, providing our customers with the peace of mind that patient information is protected and that there will be no interruption in delivery of their medical supplies."

The April 2005 compliance deadline for medical records security mandates that healthcare providers maintain specific data protection capabilities with regard to security. The objective of the contingency plan, a HIPAA security standard, is to establish policies and procedures for responding to an emergency or other occurrence that could potentially damage systems containing electronic protected health information.

NetApp storage solutions allow Byram to effectively scale its infrastructure as its business grows and IT infrastructure requirements shift over time. The healthcare provider -- which nearly doubled in size last year -- utilized NetApp Data ONTAP 7G software with FlexVol technology to facilitate its rapid data growth, maximizing the full power and capacity of each disk for high-performance, on-demand storage.

"No other architecture could have given us the potential to scale our production environment as quickly and cost-effectively as NetApp," said Anthony Acquanita, senior systems administrator at Byram Healthcare. "NetApp Data ONTAP 7G allowed us to nearly double the available storage capacity without adding a single disk."

"With customers like Byram, our momentum continues to accelerate with both regulatory compliance solutions and Fibre Channel SAN," said Patrick Rogers, vice president of Products and Partners at Network Appliance. "With the unique single architecture that only NetApp can offer, we are helping customers feel confident about the safety of their data and the flexibility of their infrastructure, all while reducing management cost."

About Byram Healthcare

Byram Healthcare is a leading provider of disposable medical supplies and services to patients in the home. Byram specializes in the provision of products for treatment and care of chronic conditions in four areas: ostomy, diabetes, urology/incontinence, and wound care. Headquartered in Milford, CT, Byram serves over 300,000 customers from 14 regional operating centers. Supported by its direct sales force, Byram enjoys strong relationships with referring home health agencies, managed care organizations and healthcare professionals.

About Network Appliance

Network Appliance is a world leader in unified storage solutions for today's data-intensive enterprise. Since its inception in 1992, Network Appliance has delivered technology, product, and partner firsts that simplify data management. Information about Network Appliance(TM) solutions and services is available at www.netapp.com.

NetApp is a registered trademark and Network Appliance, Data ONTAP, and FlexVol are trademarks of Network Appliance, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such.