NetApp Customer FirstHealth of the Carolinas Named 2007 InfoWorld 100 Winner

Business Wire, Nov 15, 2007

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Network Appliance, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) customer FirstHealth of the Carolinas, Inc., has been named a 2007 InfoWorld 100 winner for innovation in the Healthcare/Medical category. The InfoWorld 100 Awards celebrate real-world IT projects that use technology in smart, innovative, and creative ways to meet business and technical objectives.

FirstHealth is a private, non-governmental, not-for-profit healthcare network serving 15 counties in the mid-Carolinas. FirstHealth of the Carolinas includes three hospitals with 611 licensed beds and an active medical staff of 257. With a host of integrated facilities and services, FirstHealth is one of the nation's most comprehensive healthcare networks. For two consecutive years, the organization's flagship, Moore Regional Hospital, was named one of the nation's top 100 hospitals.

"As an innovator in the healthcare industry, FirstHealth recognized the importance of partnering with NetApp to implement a storage strategy that could deliver unprecedented flexibility and cost savings and, ultimately, have a significant impact on their business," said Elisa Steele, vice president, Corporate Marketing at NetApp. "We're proud that FirstHealth has been recognized by InfoWorld and honored that NetApp had the opportunity to help successfully deliver exceptional patient care across the growing network of FirstHealth hospitals."

FirstHealth CIO Dave Dillehunt and his IT department teamed with NetApp to consolidate its data center infrastructure from direct-attached storage (DAS) to NetApp[R] IP SAN standardized on the FAS3000 series. In response to massive patient data growth, data protection regulations, and security demands, FirstHealth leveraged NetApp Data ONTAP[R] 7G and FlexVol[R] to provision and allocate over 150TB of data for maximum performance and scalability. With the comprehensive data protection suite from NetApp, FirstHealth improved patient data availability and recoverability to deliver critical care, even in the event of a site disaster.

This is the third year in a row that a NetApp customer was honored with the InfoWorld 100 Award. Industrial Light and Magic, a Lucasfilm Ltd. company serving the digital needs of the entertainment industry for visual effects, was named a winner in 2006 and IGT, a worldwide leader in the design and manufacturing of casino slot machines, was named in 2005.

"Whether ushering legacy systems into the agile era or revolutionizing how their companies leverage technology to meaningful ends, this year's winners are both inspiration and proof that striking a new path in IT can reap deep organizational rewards," said InfoWorld Senior Editor Jason Snyder.

Details on all winners of the 2007 InfoWorld 100 Awards are available online at http://www.infoworld.com/archives/t.jsp?N=s&V=93246.

About Network Appliance

Network Appliance is a leading provider of innovative data management solutions that simplify the complexity of storing, managing, protecting, and retaining enterprise data. Market leaders around the world choose NetApp to help them reduce cost, minimize risk, and adapt to change. For solutions that deliver unmatched simplicity and value, visit us on the Web at www.netapp.com.

About FirstHealth of the Carolinas

FirstHealth of the Carolinas is a private, non-governmental, not-for-profit healthcare network serving 15 counties in the mid-Carolinas. For two consecutive years the organization's flagship hospital was named one of the nation's top 100 hospitals.

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