HOUSTON - Nov. 3, 2003 - NextiraOne, LLC, a Platinum Equity company, announced today it has achieved the Internet Protocol Contact Center Express Advanced Technology Provider (IPCC-E ATP) status from Cisco Systems Inc. This ATP designation is by invitation only and recognizes NextiraOne for having the ability to provide the core knowledge and skills required to successfully deploy Cisco contact center solutions targeted at the mid-range, single-site contact center market.

"ATP partners are instrumental in helping Cisco penetrate new growth markets," said Paul Mountford, vice president, Worldwide Channels at Cisco Systems. "ATP partners, like NextiraOne, are hand selected by Cisco to help develop the solutions, services and support that enable the successful deployment and management of Cisco advanced technologies."

"We're pleased to have earned Cisco's validation of our expertise and capabilities in the IP contact center space," said Kathi Gurin, director, contact center and convergence solutions for NextiraOne. "Contact center services are a key component of our services portfolio. This validation demonstrates the depth of our knowledge and expertise to our customers in this area, enhancing their confidence in our ability to provide a comprehensive communications solution that best meets their business needs."

To achieve the IPCC-E ATP, NextiraOne met or exceeded the personnel, pre- and post-sales support and lab requirements outlined by Cisco.

Resource Requirements
The IPCC-E ATP required NextiraOne to achieve the IP-T Technology Specialization as a prerequisite. To achieve the Cisco IP-T Technology Specialization NextiraOne was required to fulfill the following job roles with individuals who have met specific testing requirements:

• An account manager, responsible for IP telephony sales methodology
• A project coordinator, responsible for project plan development and execution
• A systems engineer, responsible for IP telephony solution planning and design
• Two field engineers, one responsible for the implementation and operation of the IP telephony solution and one responsible for the Unity unified messaging solution
• An operations specialist, responsible for troubleshooting network problems related to IP telephony solutions.

In addition to these individuals, the IPCC-E ATP also required NextiraOne to certify an account manager responsible for pre-sales support and a system engineer responsible for post-sales support.

Pre-Sales & Post-Sales Support
In addition to the personnel requirements, NextiraOne also has to provide the following pre-sales services:

• Pre-installation site preparation and support
• On-site upgrades
• Capacity planning and traffic analysis
• System design and architecture

From a post-sales perspective NextiraOne will provide First and Second Level support, giving them the ability to address Cisco product and mis-configuration of problems, as well as one-hour call back during normal business hours and 24-hour call back on after hour calls.

Lab Requirement
The IPCC-E ATP also requires NextiraOne to maintain a lab for development and customer fault replication. The lab must contain current, upgraded and maintained Cisco contact center products, each configured to reproduce end-user problems. The lab must also be suitable for the following purposes:

• Proof-of-concept demonstration
• Application development
• Fault replication
• Internal training

About NextiraOne
Headquartered in Houston and Paris, NextiraOne is a client-focused provider of communications solutions and managed services. With nearly $2 billion in revenues and over 9,000 employees worldwide, NextiraOne plans, implements and manages voice, data and converged communications solutions for enterprise and general business clients. NextiraOne offers an extensive portfolio of technical and product expertise, including focus on key client segments, and provides best-in-class technologies from strategic partners. For more information, please visit www.NextiraOne.com. NextiraOne is owned by Platinum Equity (www.platinumequity.com), a global acquisition firm specializing in the strategic operation of mission-critical services and solutions businesses according to a unique M&A&O^SM model of value creation.

Contact:

Sadie McCrary
Media Relations Representative
M/C/C for NextiraOne
972-480-8383 ext. 222
Sadie_McCrary@mccom.com

For NextiraOne:
Shannon DeYoung
Director, Marketing
713-307-4743
Shannon.DeYoung@NextiraOne.com