NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 5, 2001--What good are Siemens' mammogram or x-ray systems if patients can't get through on the healthcare providers' telephone systems to make appointments for these medical marvels?

That's one thing Kaiser Permanente members don't have to worry about as Siemens Enterprise Networks LLC (SEN) today announced a 5-year agreement for contract maintenance services as well as moves, adds, and changes (MAC) to select voice networks nationally. In pursuit of economies of scale, Siemens consolidated several stand-alone agreements, covering approximately 200,000 ports, into one contract. As Siemens demonstrates its continued commitment to support its installed customer base, the organization should benefit from the consolidated agreement through cost savings and administrative simplification.

Healthcare organizations are becoming increasingly cost-conscious,'' said Dennis Kiefer, vice president for Siemens SEN, Western Area Service.`The administrative cost of delivering healthcare services continues to rise. New efficiencies are necessary to keep healthcare services affordable to consumers and to maintain their loyalty. This is a great example of how a healthcare organization can do that.''

Expectations for service delivery are a key component of Siemens' agreement with Kaiser Permanente. These include aggressive service levels for mean response and repair times on PBX, PhoneMail, interactive voice response (IVR), wireless, and call center systems. High availability levels are targeted for each of the 190 systems covered by the agreement. In addition, dedicated personnel in Siemens National Customer Support Center will generate a variety of standard and custom reports, including annual traffic studies.`Such standardization and uniformity in system administration across the country were important to this organization,'' Kiefer said.

The agreement illustrates Siemens' HiPath(TM) enterprise convergence architecture as it relates to customer support and service. The intent of the HiPath architecture is to strengthen business-to-business and business-to-consumer communications by allowing companies to leverage existing voice and data applications as they migrate toward next-generation technologies.`This new national partnership agreement delivers on our HiPath strategy,'' Kiefer said. `Kaiser Permanente is able to maximize investment in its existing infrastructure while receiving assurances of exceptional availability and quality of service.

This is truly a case where better business means better service, and where is service more critical than in healthcare delivery?''

About Siemens

Based in Boca Raton, Fla., Siemens Information and Communication Networks, Inc., with its subsidiaries -- Siemens Carrier Networks LLC, Siemens Enterprise Networks LLC and Optisphere Networks Inc., is a leading provider of integrated voice and data networks and solutions for enterprises, carriers and service providers. Siemens AG, headquartered in Berlin and Munich, Germany, is a leading global electrical engineering and electronics company, employing over 447,000 people in 193 countries, with sales in excess of $74 billion worldwide in fiscal 2000.

The United States is the largest market for Siemens globally. In the U.S., Siemens employs more than 73,000 employees and achieved sales of more than $17.1 billion in fiscal 2000. Siemens' U.S. businesses are leaders in the information and communication, healthcare, energy, industry, financial services, transportation and lighting sectors.

Visit Siemens' booth 1158 at HIMSS to learn more about Siemens' service and outsourcing solutions for the healthcare industry. HiPath is a trademark of Siemens AG. For more information on Siemens Information and Communication Networks, Inc., visit its Web site at www.icn.siemens.com.

     Siemens Corporation, Santa Clara, Calif.
     DeAnne Minner, 408/492-6999
     DeAnne.Minner@icn.siemens.com