GlassHouse Technologies Manages Storage RFP and Procurement for The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America

RFP, vendor selection services help insure upgrade enterprise storage environment

Framingham, MA and New York, NY - GlassHouse Technologies, the leading independent provider of vendor-neutral storage services and consulting, today announced that it has been engaged to provide vendor-neutral, third-party consulting services to manage a storage RFP and procurement process for New-York based insurer The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, the fourth-largest mutual life insurance company in the US.

GlassHouse developed Guardian's Request for Proposal for the company's enterprise storage environment, which includes sites in New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. More than five storage vendors responded to the RFP for 70TB of primary storage and data replication, with GlassHouse acting as project manager and technical consultant during the response, specification and selection process.

"We were able to leverage GlassHouse's expertise to simplify the acquisition of top-tier storage hardware and software for a very complex environment, including primary storage and replication," commented Bob Mathers, second vice president of IT operations, Guardian. "GlassHouse worked with us and the short-list vendors to ensure that the equipment we were purchasing would meet our needs without overbuying or paying too much. Their ability to compare competing technologies allowed us to purchase the best technology at the lowest prices."

"With GlassHouse's help we were able to negotiate a very favorable per-megabyte price for hardware as well as software and extended maintenance support that will see Guardian through years four and five, should we choose, with this storage and replication environment," said Warren Jones, vice president of IT operations, Guardian. "Based upon the value and expertise GlassHouse brought to our procurement process we asked GlassHouse to provide consulting services beyond the RFP for vendor-selection and procurement negotiations."

"We were able to put Guardian's needs and concerns first at every stage of this engagement because we are the premier vendor-neutral provider of storage services and consulting," said Mark Shirman, president and CEO of GlassHouse. "We have a strong understanding of the products of the major storage providers. Coupled with the relationships we have forged with companies such as IBM, EMC, HDS, Brocade, Cisco, McDATA and others," Shirman continued, "We were able to contribute to current-day savings for Guardian, while ensuring that the client has great flexibility and options going forward with its new storage systems."

About The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY (Guardian) is the fourth largest mutual life insurance company in the United States. As of December 31, 2002, Guardian and its subsidiaries had $34.1 billion in assets. Founded in 1860, Guardian is listed among Fortune magazine's top 300 businesses---and in 2003 was ranked once again as one of the top 10 most admired life and health companies in Fortune's "America's Most Admired Companies" list. With 5,500 employees, over 2,700 financial representatives and 100 agencies nationwide, Guardian and its subsidiaries protect individuals, businesses and their employees with life, disability, health and dental insurance products, and offer 401(k), mutual fund and annuity investment products, and trust services. More information on Guardian can be obtained at: www.glic.com.

About GlassHouse Technologies
GlassHouse Technologies provides services that help organizations solve the business problems of enterprise storage. From strategy through implementation, operations and support, GlassHouse partners with clients to achieve predictability and manageability in storage and backup operations, transforming storage into a strategic advantage. GlassHouse clients include Biogen Idec, Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB), Hartz Mountain Industries, Inc., Pitney-Bowes, Inc. (NYSE: PBI) and The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. More information about GlassHouse is available at www.glasshouse.com.