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NETWORK APPLIANCE COMPLETES WORLDWIDE CERTIFICATION OF GLOBAL SUPPORT CENTER OPERATIONSNetApp Becomes First Storage Provider to Achieve Support Center Certification on three continentsSUNNYVALE, Calif. – November 2, 2001 — Network Appliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP), the leading provider of network-attached data access and content delivery solutions, announced today it has achieved certification for its newest Global Support Center based in Singapore, under the prestigious Support Center Practices (SCP) certification program.Network Appliance has now received SCP certification on three continents, becoming the first company to achieve such recognition in the IT industry, according to Service Strategies Corporation. The Global Support Center (GSC) in Singapore was opened by Network Appliance CEO Dan Warmenhoven on March 26, 2001, and the full service facility has quickly scaled to handle 14% of the company’s overall GSC call volume. Network Appliance operates four SCP-certified support centers worldwide, in Sunnyvale, California, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, Hoofddorp, Netherlands, and Singapore. “Network Appliance has invested aggressively to build a first-class global support center operation that meets our customers' needs and provides the maximum level of professional service and technical capability possible, said Patrick Linehan, senior vice president of customer satisfaction at Network Appliance. “All our Global Support Centers are now recognized for exhibiting a consistent, superior commitment to delivering world-class customer service. Being first with worldwide SCP certification for every GSCs is important because it signifies our priority to continually deliver the highest quality service available—regardless of geographic boundaries.” By utilizing the “Follow the Sun” customer support model on a global scale, Network Appliance ensures that the physical location of the support center is irrelevant. With this service model in place coupled with this latest SCP certification, Network Appliance customers now have a measurable indication of the company’s commitment to customer satisfaction. SCP Certification is an internationally recognized standard created by the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) and a consortium of IT companies to create a recognized quality certification for Support Centers and to provide a method of benchmarking for Support Center practices. Service Strategies Corporation conducted the on-site audit of the Network Appliance Asia–Pacific support center and confirmed that company met the requirements of over 100 business elements defined in the SCP program. SCP certification measures factors such as corporate commitment and strategic direction, customer satisfaction, performance metrics, research and development interface, and other strategic areas of the support operation. Network Appliance’s award winning customer support model exhibited a superior commitment to delivering world-class customer service in all the SCP evaluation categories,” said Ben Stephens, principal of Service Strategies Corporation. “By passing the rigorous requirements necessary to achieve SCP certification, Network Appliance has demonstrated that it now provides a quality support infrastructure for its customers on a global scale.” About SCP Certification The SCP certification program was developed to address service quality issues that affect the rapidly growing technology support industry. Thirty-five companies, representing the core membership of the Software Support Professionals Association (SSPA) created the program along with Service Strategies Corporation. These companies contributed their insight and perspective into defining the key elements required for delivering world-class support. The SSPA is made up of over 500 of the world's leading technology companies and provides a value added forum where service and support professionals share ideas and discuss developing trends. For more information about SSPA, visit http://www.supportgate.com. Service Strategies Corporation is responsible for administering the SCP certification program and conducting on-site certification audits. For more information about SCP certification, contact Service Strategies Corporation at 858.674.4864 or visit http://www.supportgate.com/scp. About Network Appliance Network Appliance, Inc., a leader in network file storage and content delivery, has been providing data access solutions since 1992, and is a member of both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 index. Major corporations and service providers, including Lycos, Yahoo!, Citicorp Securities, Siemens, Lockheed, Cisco, Motorola, and Texas Instruments have deployed NetApp® solutions. The company pioneered the concept of the "network appliance," an extension of the industry trend toward dedicated, specialized products that perform a single function. NetApp storage and content delivery platforms (filers and NetCache appliances) are coupled with powerful content distribution and reporting software. This Center-to-Edge™ solution offers seamless data management from the back-end data center to the edge of the network quickly, simply, and reliably. The Network Appliance product portfolio utilizes the company's innovative data access software, known as the Data ONTAP operating system, as well as standards-compliant hardware. It also offers multiprotocol support and transparent integration for UNIX® and Windows® environments. NetApp and NetCache are registered trademarks and Network Appliance, Center-to-Edge, and Data ONTAP are trademarks of Network Appliance, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such. Editorial Contact: Ron Johnson Supportgate.com 909.244.7002 rjohnson@supportgate.com top of page |
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