November 29, 2004

Lufthansa Systems introduces a standardized process to analyze the security, cost and quality of corporate IT technology .

Lufthansa Systems today announced its new IT Risk Assessment consulting service which enables it to assess the business-critical processes of medium to large companies for exposure to security failure or breakdown. A standardized procedure provides a systematic analysis and appraisal of the security, cost, and quality of IT-supported business processes.

The new service is being offered as businesses become increasingly dependent on maintaining a smooth-running IT infrastructure. IT Risk Assessment allows the analysis of potential areas of weakness in the information technology used by enterprises. It can pinpoint specific areas where optimization can lead to improvements in operational security or reduce the cost of individual processes.

The standardized analysis includes an assessment of areas such as security, operations, performance, and financial management. A questionnaire designed to highlight up to 800 different issues provides company managers with an initial evaluation of their organization. Completing the form normally takes no more than a single day. Once completed, the form is returned to Lufthansa Systems for evaluation. In carrying out its evaluation of business processes, Lufthansa Systems adheres to the latest Best Practice guidelines including those published by ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library), MOF (Microsoft Operations Framework) or Cobit (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology). The customer also gains the benefit of Lufthansa Systems' considerable IT project experience.

Company management receives a final traffic-light report stating in concrete terms whether or not significant operational IT risks have been identified. The decision-makers in the company can use this report to decide when and how their corporate processes should be revised.

"We are currently experience strong demand for management consulting," said Stefan Hansen, Vice President business segment Infrastructure Services at Lufthansa Systems. "More than ever before, senior managers and IT administrators are having to address issues such as sourcing strategies and process optimization in order to align their organizations with the demands of the global market," continued Hansen. "We often encounter situations in which companies are handicapped by their old ERP applications and are looking for newer, more flexible solutions. Our consulting service can help identify the weak areas in an organization and instigate the necessary changes that will enable it to respond quickly to changing market conditions."

Note to editors:

Lufthansa Systems is one of the world's leading IT service providers to the airline and aviation industries. As systems integrator, the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group covers the entire range of IT services, including consulting, development, implementation and operation. Lufthansa Systems provides its IT infrastructure and operations services to a variety of industries. Headquartered in Kelsterbach near Frankfurt/Main, Germany, the company has branches in Germany and 13 countries and employs about 4,400 people worldwide. In business year 2003, Lufthansa Systems recorded sales of EUR 610.7 million.