Loudcloud research releases first in series of technology white papers; White paper shares issues, information customers can act on for Internet business success.

M2 PRESSWIRE-24 May 2001-Loudcloud: Loudcloud research releases first in series of technology white papers; White paper shares issues, information customers can act on for Internet business success (C)1994-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

RDATE:24052001

London -- Loudcloud, Inc., (NASDAQ: LDCL) the leading managed services provider, today announced the availability of the first in a series of technology white papers written by Loudcloud Research, a team of top research engineers who evaluate technology for the benefit of Loudcloud customers. The white paper, entitled "Designing High-Performance Scalable Web Applications," outlines the issues and actions businesses can take to design highly scalable Internet applications in a cost effective manner while still providing end users with the best experience possible. The white paper is available today at www.loudcloud.com.

Scalability is an important factor when designing web applications. Careful planning and execution will create a web site that can gracefully handle peak traffic spikes and allow a business to cost-effectively expand and grow.

Businesses that design web applications for scalability early on can also reduce or eliminate the costly need to completely overhaul their web site architecture with future growth. The white paper focuses on how IT professionals can build their web applications for scalability from the ground up by focusing on four key topics: analyzing web application requirements, determining web application functionality, choosing an optimum web architecture, and designing the web application itself. Using these design criteria, businesses can build their web site applications on a scalable infrastructure foundation saving time and resources when growth occurs.

The "Designing High Performance Scalable Web Applications" white paper also notes that performance trade-offs are inevitable when designing for scalability. Choosing the right architecture and web application components, and understanding how they perform together under a wide variety of demanding circumstances, is important in providing both performance and scalability.

Reacting to this need, Loudcloud assembled a team of industry-leading research engineers tasked with evaluating best-of-breed technologies for its customers, saving them the time and resources they would otherwise need to conduct full technology and vendor selection. Loudcloud Research unlocks the vast investment businesses have placed in building and designing new web applications by providing the much-needed expertise in how to operate the technologies powering those applications.

"Loudcloud is committed to providing a scalable, secure environment for our customers` Internet businesses," said David Posey, Vice President and General Manager, Loudcloud Operations Research. "Through the consistent deployment, management, and growth of Internet infrastructure for our current customers, we have been able to identify application development best practices and are pleased to share them with our customers and the business community at large."

Loudcloud customers - which range from global 2000 businesses to ASPs and high-growth Internet companies - no longer need to procure, install, configure or maintain the hardware and software infrastructure products that serve as the backbone of their high trafficked Internet site. Instead, through Loudcloud`s Smart Cloud services, a business can subscribe to the same infrastructure in the form of a 24x7 managed service.

Loudcloud`s Smart Cloud services are supported by Loudcloud`s proprietary automation technology, Opsware. Loudcloud`s Opsware technology captures and manages via software the thousands of pieces of information, decisions and processes required to deploy, manage and grow an Internet infrastructure. This technology automates and streamlines formerly manual tasks, offering Loudcloud customers the quality, scale and speed in their Internet operations not available with any other competitive solution. Data from Loudcloud`s customers reveal that outsourced Internet operations has saved its customers millions of dollars and years of engineering labor.

About Loudcloud

Loudcloud is the leading managed services provider, offering a new solution for outsourcing global Internet operations for enterprise companies, application service providers and large-scale Internet businesses. Loudcloud moves beyond hosting or consulting services with its unique Opsware technology to automate, scale, and monitor Internet operation functions previously done by hand. Loudcloud manages its infrastructure network via a worldwide network of data centers and Network Operations Centers (NOCs) located in North America and Europe. For more information on Loudcloud, please visit our Web site at www.loudcloud.com

CONTACT: Hannah Summers, eclat Marketing Tel: +44 (0)1628 400900 Albert Benhamou, Loudcloud Tel: +44 207 887 6014

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