Global Automotive Supplier Improves Productivity Using NETSCOUT's nGenius(TM) Solutions

10 Sep 2001
       Visibility Into Application Traffic Puts ArvinMeritor In Control
              of Rising WAN Costs While Assuring Service Levels

WESTFORD, Mass., Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- NetScout Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTCT) today announced that ArvinMeritor, a global supplier of integrated systems, modules and components to the motor vehicle industry, has selected NetScout's nGenius performance management system as part of its e-Business strategy to gain stronger oversight of its worldwide network.

The rising costs associated with optimizing services across its global Wide Area Network (WAN) led ArvinMeritor to look for a method that could continually monitor day-to-day WAN usage and get the most productivity out of its IT investment and internal resources. ArvinMeritor's global network serves 36,000 employees and 150 manufacturing facilities in 26 countries.

"Our products and overall success as a company revolve around our ability to successfully and effectively manage our networking environment," said Frank LeFavi, manager of Global Network Operations for ArvinMeritor. "If our WAN connection is down for one day-it will cost us tens of thousands to millions of dollars. NetScout helps us proactively reduce downtime, meet our internal service level agreements and get the most 'return on investment' from our infrastructure."

Deploying NetScout's full suite of nGenius performance management solutions -- nGenius Real-Time Monitor (TM), nGenius Capacity Planner(TM) and nGenius Application Service Level Manager(TM) and NetScout Probes at critical points across its WAN-immediately helped ArvinMeritor to optimize capacity, mitigate WAN costs and determine whether its links were properly sized based on demand. The company is also using nGenius' actual usage data to assess penalties when providers fail to meet their Service Level Agreements.

NetScout's nGenius Real-Time Monitor allows ArvinMeritor to see and understand network consumption by presenting actual traffic patterns; it identifies an application's "top talkers" both individually and by protocol; and it displays related bandwidth utilization relative to network response time.

"We not only use nGenius' real-time data to diagnose problems quickly and track application response time from source to destination, but also to monitor internal and external performance metrics associated with Service Level Agreements with business units throughout the company," said LeFavi.

    These Service Level Assurance metrics involve:
    -- Delivering applications to 18,000 network users
    -- Managing three (3) separate service providers for the US and Canada,
       Europe and Latin America
    -- Driving the delivery of mission-critical applications from SAP and
       Oracle, as well as MFG Pro, and Microsoft Exchange
       Monitoring T-1, WAN, DS/E3 and Fast Ethernet segments

Another welcome advantage for LeFavi and his staff is using nGenius reports to reinforce the contribution of corporate IT in ArvinMeritor's overall business model.

"We use NetScout products to demonstrate to the corporation how effective we are as an internal utility and the value IT brings to the table," said LeFavi. "From intelligent capacity planning to measuring application response time and usage, to monitoring our global network in real-time, NetScout continues to preserve resources, optimize performance and lower our total cost of ownership."

"When it comes to global networks, large enterprises often employ 'after the fact' management. This approach seldom results in being able to stay ahead of mission-critical performance management issues," said Michael Szabados, senior vice president, Product Operations for NetScout Systems.

"The nGenius performance management system gives customers like ArvinMeritor the in-depth traffic visibility needed to fix problems before they happen and take immediate, corrective action to prevent bottlenecks down the road. We are pleased that our investments in expanding and integrating our suite of nGenius software applications, including our acquisition of Nextpoint Networks, are adding such tangible value to leading companies such as ArvinMeritor."

About ArvinMeritor

ArvinMeritor, Inc. (NYSE: ARM) is a premier $7-billion global supplier of a broad range of integrated systems, modules and components to the motor vehicle industry. The company serves light vehicle, commercial truck, trailer and specialty original equipment manufacturers and related aftermarkets. In addition, ArvinMeritor is a leader in coil coating applications, including those for the transportation, appliance, construction and furniture industries. The company is headquartered in Troy, Michigan, and employs 36,000 people at more than 150 manufacturing facilities in 26 countries. ArvinMeritor common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ARM. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.arvinmeritor.com.

About nGenius

NetScout's nGenius(TM) Performance Management System is a market-leading suite of monitoring and reporting applications that draw on rich, integrated performance data generated by NetScout's line of application-aware probes and active agents, plus network devices. The nGenius System helps organizations increase their return on infrastructure investments by optimizing the performance of their network and its ability to deliver applications and content to end-users.

About NetScout Systems

NetScout Systems, Inc. is the leading provider of network performance management solutions for leading companies and service providers worldwide. NetScout serves approximately half of the Fortune 500 and counts among its customers 3M Corporation, Amazon.com, AT&T Wireless, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cable & Wireless, Cisco Systems, Computer Sciences Corporation, Exenet Technologies, Fidelity Investments, Intel Online, MCI, Reed Elsevier, Sprint, Sun Microsystems and Webhire. NetScout is headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts, and has approximately 320 employees, with offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Further information on the company is available on the World Wide Web at www.netscout.com

NetScout is a registered trademark, and the NetScout logo, nGenius, nGenius Real-Time Monitor, nGenius Application Service Level Manager and nGenius Capacity Planner are trademarks of NetScout Systems, Inc.

     Peggy Flynn
     NetScout Systems
     (978) 614-4113
     flynnp@netscout.com

     Dustin Smith or Dan Sarro
     Schwartz Communications, Inc.
     (781) 684-0770
     netscout@schwartz-pr.com

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SOURCE NetScout Systems, Inc.
Web site: http: //www.netscout.com
CONTACT: Peggy Flynn of NetScout Systems, +1-978-614-4113, flynnp@netscout.com; or Dustin Smith or Dan Sarro, +1-781-684-0770, netscout@schwartz-pr.com of Schwartz Communications, Inc.