Do-It-Yourself Information Availability Not Worth the Effort; Study by

Do-It-Yourself Information Availability Not Worth the Effort; Study by Leading Analyst Firm Suggests There Are Major Cost Advantages to Allowing a Third Party to Facilitate Design and Execution of Information Availability Solutions

    Business Editors

    WAYNE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 25, 2005--A study by leading industry analyst firm IDC quantitatively demonstrates the advantages many companies would enjoy by allowing a third party to assist with the design and execution of information availability solutions. The study's findings of significant cost savings and faster recovery times from utilizing a third party are confirmed by SunGard Availability Services' over 25 years of experience as the pioneer and leading provider of information availability services. SunGard Availability Services is an operating group of SunGard (NYSE:SDS) and defines information availability as a company's capability to always keep its employees and its mission-critical information connected.
    The results of the study, an IDC White Paper sponsored by SunGard titled "Ensuring Information Availability: Aligning Customer Needs With An Optimal Investment Strategy," demonstrate significant financial and performance benefits for companies that allow a third party to handle some or all of their information availability services as opposed to handling them in-house. The key findings of the survey were:

--	Using a third party can provide approximately 32% cost savings.
--	Using a third party allows for faster recovery times. (Companies that didn't outsource had recovery times that were 77% longer.)
--	Using a third party reduces the expected degree of degradation.
--	Companies that use a third party have more confidence in their ability to recover.

    "Clearly, ensuring the appropriate level of information availability involves aligning the appropriate sourcing model - using a third party versus in-house - with the degree of business risk companies are willing to take," said David Tapper, program manager, IT Outsourcing and Utility Services and Global Offshore Services at IDC. "The choices are for companies to assume full management of information availability without the assistance of a third party (the highest level of risk) to a fully outsourced model (the lowest level of risk). However, companies can achieve a moderate level of risk by retaining some level of control over information availability while allowing a third party to help with the components they believe can be better performed by the provider."
    David Palermo, vice president of marketing, SunGard Availability Services, said, "Allowing a third party to handle a company's information availability means lower costs and faster recovery times. What separates SunGard from other third-party providers is that when a company teams up with us, its IT department can exercise as much or as little control over its solution as it wants to."
    For the study, IDC conducted in-depth interviews with 40 companies in the US and Europe with average revenues of $2.7 billion and 15,775 employees.

    About SunGard Availability Services

    SunGard Availability Services is the pioneer and leading provider of information availability services, helping to ensure that more than 10,000 clients in North America and Europe have access to their business-critical information systems. With over three million square feet of hardened facilities, SunGard offers a complete range of information availability services for more than 30 technology platforms, from 48-hour disaster recovery hotsites to always-on, high-availability infrastructure, co-location and electronic vaulting services. SunGard also provides technology and systems management services for application and data center outsourcing, as well as business continuity consulting services and planning software. For more information about SunGard Availability Services, visit www.availability.sungard.com or call 1-800-523-4970.

    About SunGard

    SunGard is a global leader in integrated software and processing solutions, primarily for financial services. SunGard also helps information-dependent enterprises of all types to ensure the continuity of their business. SunGard serves more than 20,000 customers in more than 50 countries, including the world's 50 largest financial services companies. SunGard (NYSE:SDS) is a member of the S&P 500 and has annual revenue of $3 billion. Visit SunGard at www.sungard.com.

    Trademark Information: SunGard and the SunGard logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of SunGard Data Systems Inc. or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries. All other trade names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

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CONTACT: Media contact: SunGard Availability Services Mike Walsh, 484-582-2443 mike.walsh@sungard.com

KEYWORD: PENNSYLVANIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE BANKING SOFTWARE SOURCE: SunGard Availability Services

Copyright Business Wire 2005