(Hong Kong, September 26, 2002) Diyixian.com Ltd, Greater China’s largest IP private network service provider, today announced the launch of a customized version of its Virtual Internet Service Provider (vISP) service for the retail industry, and anticipated that it would function as a business survival tool for industry players who have to struggle for survival in the face of the economic malaise.

Hong Kong has been hit by deflation for nearly four years. According to a recent survey by the Hong Kong Retail Management Association, a growing number of people plan to rein in spending in a bid to brace for a deteriorating economy. An unclear economic and political climate in the US has led to a continuing fall in the level of consumer confidence. War with Iraq, leading to a spike in oil prices, would only aggravate the situation.

Many local retailers have to struggle for survival in the face of a depressed market and intensified competition. Information technology is now finding its way again into the hearts and hands of retailing bosses. Recently there is a renewed interest in adopting customer-facing technologies that will enhance their sustainable competitive advantage and ROI (Return on Investment).

It is against this background that Diyixian develops and launches its DYXNet Managed vISP service. vISP is essentially a cost-effective, one-stop approach for managing the WAN infrastructure of businesses with branches or offices within the same area. Outsourcing WAN management allows retailers and manufacturers to focus on their core competencies rather than technology, and achieve operational performance, higher service levels, and reduction in time to market.

Companies also receive a range of cost savings and business benefits when outsourcing their WAN and hosting requirements to a third party specialist. By using a third party provider like Diyixian, operational cost savings can be made in terms of a reduction of investment in employees, hardware, equipment investment and infrastructure, and overheads.

These direct and indirect benefits can be measured by calculations such as ROI. When Diyixian’s clients such as worldwide fast food giant, the casual-wear chain, and electronics shop were looking to outsource their WAN management, ROI was a key consideration. By way of cost benefit analysis, they realized that it was not feasible to manage the development of communications links between their branches or develop a server farm internally. The vISP service from Diyixian not only reduced the business and technology risks involved in their daily operations, but also saved them a considerable amount of money which would be otherwise invested in other projects.

Man Lap, CEO of Diyixian, says: “In the retail industry, business effectiveness is absolutely critical if you are to develop and maintain any sort of relationship with your customers. One of the key benefits of vISP services is that they enable both incumbents and start-ups to react much faster.”

Diyixian will team up with CyberM, one of Hong Kong’s leading business solution providers, to launch a half-day seminar for potential retail customers. Diyixian believes that CyberM’s impressive range of proven integrated solutions for the retail industry, together with Diyixian’s own IT infrastructure outsourcing solutions, will add much value to customer service excellence.

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