Brocade Selects Westcon Group to Deliver IP/Ethernet Networking Solutions

Brocade^® (Nasdaq:BRCD) and Westcon Group, Inc. today announced that Westcon Group will distribute Brocade enterprise IP/Ethernet networking products to channel reseller partners. Brocade selected Westcon Group for its ability to efficiently deliver IP/Ethernet networking solutions to channel reseller partners on a global scale, as well as for its extensive knowledge, skills, and expertise in key industry verticals. Westcon Group is the first global distributor to specialize in providing Brocade IP/Ethernet networking products to channel resellers.

As part of the agreement, Westcon Group will distribute the complete Brocade IP/Ethernet portfolio of products and will leverage its own expertise to deliver solutions for campus LAN, data center, and service provider environments. Brocade will also be participating in Westcon Group’s SecurityPoint program and is currently working with Westcon to develop a robust training program for resellers.

"By partnering with Westcon, we intend to expand our route to market for our industry-leading IP networking products, particularly our LAN portfolio. Westcon’s reputation as a leading networking distributor combined with its global transactional expertise translates into tangible benefits for our customers,” said Barbara Spicek, vice president of global channels at Brocade. "Our new relationship with Westcon makes sense as we look to deepen our relationships with customers around the world. Westcon’s established program infrastructure will help us systematically achieve this.”

Anthony Daley, executive vice president, Westcon Group, Inc., added: "We are excited to be offering Brocade’s full range of IP/Ethernet products, particularly the LAN product line, to our North American customers. Our new relationship with Brocade plays to many of Westcon’s strong suits, specifically our knowledge of IP/Ethernet networks and traditional networking, but also our global reach. The addition of the IP/Ethernet product line is a strong move for Brocade and we look forward to introducing it to our customer base.”

Dan Wilson, vice president of partner alliances of Colorado-based Accuvant, added: "The agreement between Westcon and Brocade is a good match, since both organizations share a very strong LAN and networking heritage. The addition of Brocade to Westcon’s portfolio means that we can more effectively serve our vertically diverse end-user customer base with market-leading IP/Ethernet networking products that are known and respected in the marketplace. This, combined with the knowledge and training resources available through Westcon’s solution programs, gives us an advantage over our competitors.”

The selection of Westcon is a key element of the Brocade Alliance Partner Network (APN), which was announced earlier this year. The Brocade APN Program consists of four distinct partnership levels: Distributor, Elite, Premier, and Select. All levels have been designed with specific requirements and benefits to help partners leverage and be rewarded for their networking product knowledge and solution support expertise. As part of this partner-enablement strategy, Brocade will provide its partners with deal registration to help ensure project and investment protection. In addition, Brocade has extensively expanded its dedicated sales, marketing, and technical support offerings to help ensure profitable partnership engagement. For more information on the Brocade APN, please visit www.brocade.com/apn.

To learn more about Westcon’s Brocade-related offerings, please visit Westcon’s SecurityPoint program at http://www.securitypoint.westcon.com.

About Brocade

Brocade (Nasdaq:BRCD) develops extraordinary networking solutions that enable today’s complex, data-intensive businesses to optimize information connectivity and maximize the business value of their data. For more information, visit www.brocade.com.

About Westcon

Westcon Group, Inc. is the leading specialty distributor in networking, security, mobility, and convergence for leading technology vendors. Through its Westcon, Comstor, and Voda One business practices, Westcon Group sells products and services to resellers, systems integrators, and service providers. Westcon Group has particular expertise in the convergence of voice, data, and video applications and technologies, including voice-over Internet protocol, or VoIP, security for networking and communications systems, remote access, Internet and e-business, virtual private networks, videoconferencing, and wireless connectivity. For more information, visit www.westcongroup.com.

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