SWINDON, England, Nov. 26, 2003 - Intel Corporation today announced that the Italian car manufacturer Fiat is deploying Intel® Itanium® 2-based servers to help expand its new sales and support system, called ‘FiatLink,’ that will connect 17 European countries by 2005. The new system will maximize Fiat’s sales network by streamlining processes and improving tool integration.

The new system will help customers make more informed choices by enabling Fiat’s sales outlets to provide continuously updated product and market information. The system assists sales professionals with instant access to stock availability, offers intelligent alternatives and provides payment and financing options.

"The investment in state-of-the-art technology, based on Intel’s Itanium processor, was dictated by real business imperatives," said Nunzio Cali, IT director of Fiat, Lancia and Light Commercial Vehicles. "The efficiency and effectiveness of our sales network is crucial to our ongoing competitiveness in the marketplace. The new sales support system will be rolled out to 1800 dealers and 4000 authorized resellers over the next two years, and we expect real return on investment from this initiative, in terms of impact on profits."

The technology that enables this highly integrated sales support network is built in three layers and includes servers at the database, application and front-end level.

The database server is powered by Intel Itanium 2 processors running Red Hat* Linux* Advanced Server 2.1 and Oracle* 9i Real Application Cluster. A single central database ensures all data is regularly updated across the whole network, enabling cohesion and efficiency throughout the sales channel.

The application server is based on Intel® Xeon™ processors, Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced Server 2.1 and IBM* WebSphere* Application Server 4.0 to manage and integrate a range of e-business applications. The front-end layer is powered by Intel Itanium 2 processors running Linux and Apache Web Server for web-hosting and intranet applications.

"Fiat has shown real vision in adopting such a forward-looking, innovative support tool," said Tom Garrison, Intel’s director of enterprise marketing Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa. "It is this kind of investment that makes the difference between standing still and emerging as a leader in your sector."