UnumProvident Joins the List of Enterprise Customers Switching To Microsoft Exchange 2000

REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 26, 2001 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that UnumProvident Corp., the leader in disability income protection insurance, has selected Microsoft® Exchange 2000 Server as its messaging platform. UnumProvident sought out a solution that could easily be integrated with its existing infrastructure and IT skill level, and increase end-user productivity. Those key metrics combined with a desire to lower cost and ease administration drove UnumProvidents decision to consolidate and migrate the entire company to Exchange 2000.

“With Exchange 2000, we are now able to develop solutions that integrate seamlessly with our Windows® – and Office-based desktop,”
said Chris Bursch, vice president of enrollment technologies, messaging, and office automation at UnumProvident Corp.
“This not only allows us to maximize the return on our existing IT talent base, but it improves our agility in delivering applications and solutions to our end users that are consistent, which empowers them to be more productive and provide better service to our customers.”

Another key feature securing the win for Exchange was Outlook® Web Access, which enables access to e-mail, calendaring, contacts and other data from any Web browser. Bursch said with all employees on Exchange and the Outlook messaging and collaboration client, end-user training costs and learning curves will be significantly reduced, and the company will be able to do away with the creation and maintenance of separate user names and passwords for each Lotus Notes user.

Other enterprise customers that have recently decided to switch to Exchange 2000 include Danka Office Imaging Company Inc., Reuters, and Marathon Ashland Petroleum. More information on UnumProvidents business challenge and Microsoft solution is available at http://www.microsoft.com/servers/evaluation/casestudies/unumprovident.asp .

About Exchange

Exchange is the leader in messaging and collaboration, with more than 94 million licenses sold. Exchange 2000 is the easy-to-manage messaging and collaboration platform that provides e-mail, calendaring, instant messaging, conferencing and services for custom collaborative applications that bring people and information together. Exchange 2000 delivers enhanced reliability, scalability, manageability and performance with a lower total cost of ownership.

About UnumProvident Corp.

The subsidiaries of UnumProvident Corp. (NYSE
“UNM”
) offer a comprehensive, integrated portfolio of products and services backed by industry-leading return-to-work resources and disability expertise. UnumProvident is the leader* in income protection, providing insurance and services to individuals, both directly and through their employers. UnumProvident has more than 100 years of experience in creating innovative solutions that protect the rewards of work: paychecks, assets and lifestyles. UnumProvident was named one of Fortunes top 10 most admired insurance companies.** UnumProvident Corp. has operations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, and elsewhere around the world. For more information, visit our Web site: http://www.unumprovident.com/ .

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.

* UnumProvident represents multiple insuring subsidiaries of UnumProvident Corp., and includes the No. 1 group and individual income protection carriers in the United States and Canada according to Employee Benefit Plan Review, May 2001, and LIMRA, May 2001.

**
“Americas Most Admired Companies.”
Fortune magazine, Feb. 19, 2001.

Microsoft, Windows and Outlook are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

For more information on Exchange 2000:

Visit http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/ .

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsofts corporate information pages.

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