Research Firm Highlights More Than 50 Percent Cost Savings with The Planet's Hosted Microsoft Small Business Server Solution

Business Wire, August 28, 2007

Hosted Model Versus Do-It-Yourself Approach Offers Increased Flexibility, Reduced Risk and Costs Savings

HOUSTON -- The Planet, the world's largest privately held dedicated hosting company, today announced the availability of a new white paper that reflects a more than 50 percent cost savings for customers who use its hosted Microsoft([R])Small Business Server([R]) (SBS) solution. Prepared by Frost & Sullivan's Stratecast Partners, the white paper compares hosted solutions with the do-it-yourself, in-house approach over the course of a three-year period. The company plans to deliver the new hosted solution in September.

The white paper -- titled "The Planet's Hosted Microsoft SBS Service: An Attractive IT Outsourcing Solution for Small Businesses" -- weighs the cost of an in-house, do-it-yourself approach compared with The Planet's hosted Microsoft SBS solution. The study evaluates the three-year total cost of ownership based on server costs, software licensing fees, security, lease premiums, dedicated Internet access, utilities and in-house administration. For example, initial results show SMB customers with 20 employees spend approximately $35,600 with The Planet's hosted SBS solution, while a do-it-yourself approach could average upwards of $87,400. (See today's separate release: The Planet Expands Channel Offering with Hosted Microsoft SBS Solution for IT Integrators.)

E-mail and messaging solutions are mission-critical business applications for any organization -- large or small -- and are an expensive proposition for customers. With a hosted Microsoft SBS solution, delivered through a dedicated network of system integrators, The Planet offers a complete enterprise-class "IT portfolio-in-a-box" that includes Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Office Outlook([R]), Microsoft Office SharePoint([R]) and Microsoft SQL Server(TM). Backed by The Planet's world-class data centers and network, Stratecast's research validates the business and IT value The Planet provides SMBs, including reduced IT management costs, and increased flexibility and security.

"As a system integrator, our SMB customers rely heavily on e-mail and messaging services as the core foundation of their business," said Software Decisions, Inc. (SDi) Vice President Doug McReaken. "With The Planet's hosted Microsoft SBS, our customers can take advantage of a customized e-mail, messaging and database solution that's packaged with the security of enterprise-quality data centers. Our customers have to scrutinize even the smallest IT investments, and a hosted SBS solution offers significant financial and business justification."

"SMBs face a number of challenges in building an out-of-the-box solution for e-mail and messaging," said The Planet's Vice President of Marketing and Product Management Steve Kahan. "With The Planet's hosted SBS solution, we deliver an enterprise-grade solution backed by a world-class IT infrastructure. Coupled with cost savings of more than 50 percent compared with an in-house approach, The Planet's hosted Microsoft SBS solution provides clear and measurable business and IT benefits for the SMB community."

Stratecast White Paper Highlights

The financial investment required to purchase, operate and internally maintain a packaged Microsoft SBS solution can be an overwhelming proposition for SMB customers. Enlisting a provider like The Planet to host Microsoft SBS solutions delivers significant costs savings, and increased reliability and security. Stratecast's research also concludes that The Planet's hosted solution:

* Eliminates significant capital investment in software licenses, hardware purchases and maintenance contracts required with an in-house approach

* Delivers reliability, security and enterprise-level SLAs to ensure business continuity

* Provides a staff of trained IT experts that are available 24x7x365

* Scales resources to meet fluctuations in business needs

To download the complete Stratecast white paper, please visit:

http://www.theplanet.com/forms/register.asp?type=MSSBS_WP&utm_camp aign=BPSBWPRA070607 (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)

About Stratecast

Frost & Sullivan's Stratecast practice directly assists clients in achieving their strategic objectives by providing critical and objective insights. Stratecast's industry analysts and market experts provide the communications industry with market consulting and tactical strategic forecasting. This market information and industry research helps senior executives make critical business, technology, product, partnership and tactical strategy decisions. Our custom consulting, analyst availability and market subscriptions provide your firm with winning business growth strategies.

About The Planet

The Planet is the leading provider of On Demand IT Infrastructure solutions, hosting more than 22,000 small- and medium-size businesses and 2.8 million Web sites worldwide. By offering the best choice of servers, software tools and world-class support, backed by state-of-the-art facilities and unmatched network connectivity, The Planet helps turn information technology into a powerful competitive advantage that enables customers to successfully grow their businesses. For additional information, visit http://www.theplanet.com/.>

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