Precision CertiPro Selects SAVVIS To Provide Managed IP VPN Services; Leading Auto Parts Distributor Sought Real-Time Performance and Simplicity

    HERNDON, Va. & ST. LOUIS--Sept. 3, 2002--SAVVIS Communications , a global managed IP and managed hosting services provider, today announced that it will provide leading auto parts distributor Precision CertiPro Warehouse, Inc. with managed IP VPN services connecting its 26 locations across the eastern U.S.
    Precision CertiPro sells and distributes automotive-related products including radiators, starter/alternators, and brake components to a diverse range of auto repair facilities, such as gas stations, dealership-based repair facilities and specialist auto repair centers. The SAVVIS network will deliver key business applications including inventory tracking, accounting, invoicing, secure data transfers, file sharing, corporate intranet, and e-mail/Internet access.
    Precision CertiPro Vice President of Operations Michael Drennan said his company's communications needs are in real time. "We're in a very different market sector, but our operations are in some ways analogous to the financial services business, where SAVVIS has historically dominated. We're serving a diverse array of customers in real-time, each with unique demands - and those demands can change from minute to minute," he said. "A mechanic's business depends on his ability to get cars in and out of his shop as quickly as possible. Precision's ability to deliver the right parts at the right price at the right time is paramount. When we get the mechanic's call for a part, our Team Members need immediate access to the customer's account information and our inventory records."
    "For that reason, our demands for availability and Quality of Service are very high," Drennan said. "We're a former DSL user and we graduated from that mode of operation. We're not just 'surfing the Internet,' we need to have total control of our network. That's why we went with SAVVIS."
    While evaluating SAVVIS, Precision Certipro also considered the services of major interexchange carriers. "The problem there is you're expected to spend tens of thousands of dollars on routers, firewalls and systems integration," he said. "SAVVIS took all that out of the equation. They made things less - not more - complicated."

    About Precision CertiPro

    Precision CertiPro Warehouse, Inc. is one of the largest independent warehouse distributors of automotive parts in the Mid- Atlantic region. Originally founded in 1976 as a world-class remanufacturer of starters and alternators selling its products via route trucks to service dealers, Precision CertiPro now operates three distribution centers and 26 sales branches. In addition to its complete line of new and remanufactured electrical products that carry the Precision Alternator and Starter brand, Precision CertiPro has expanded its product lines to include radiators, CV axles, loaded brake calipers, brake drums and rotors, water pumps, clutch sets, flywheels, and gas tanks. Precision CertiPro has its own in-house Quality Control Department, a fleet of over 150 delivery trucks, a full-time technical trainer, and a toll-free technical support hotline. With over 25 years of delivering quality parts and outstanding service, Precision CertiPro is a name trusted by automotive service professionals throughout Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland.

    About SAVVIS

    SAVVIS Communications Corp. is a global network service provider that delivers IP VPNs (virtual private networks), managed hosting and Internet services to the enterprise. SAVVIS targets the financial services industry and other industries with demanding network requirements such as legal, media, retail, professional services, healthcare and manufacturing. Known as The Network that Powers Wall Street(SM), SAVVIS connects to more than 4,700 financial institutions worldwide and provides a portfolio of services via Financial Xchange(SM). Its customer base is 30% financial services, with 80% of its revenue derived from Managed IP VPNs.
    SAVVIS' IP VPNs were named Product of the Year for 2001 by the editors of Network Magazine, surpassing well-known VPN providers such as AT&T, WorldCom, Sprint and Genuity. The company was ranked the eighth fastest-growing technology company in North America on the 2001 Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 500.
    For more information about SAVVIS and its Intelligent IP Network(SM), visit: http://www.savvis.net.

    SOURCE: SAVVIS Communications Corp.