SAN JOSE, Calif., June 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Brocade(R) (NASDAQ:BRCD), the leader in networked storage solutions that help enterprises connect and manage their information, today announced that it has been selected as a finalist for Microsoft Corp.'s Partner of the Year Award in Advanced Infrastructure Solutions, Storage Solutions. Winners for the 2007 Microsoft Partner Program Awards, which recognize top Microsoft Partners delivering market-leading, Microsoft-based solutions, will be announced July 11 in Denver, Colorado at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference.

"Brocade is honored to be included among the elite list of finalists for the Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards Program," said Tom Buiocchi, Brocade Vice President of Worldwide Marketing. "With companies continually generating Windows-based data that must be managed, stored, and protected, Brocade's tight integration with Microsoft native technologies enables its FAN suite of products, including Brocade StorageX(R), to fit seamlessly into customers' existing Windows-based infrastructures while solving their most critical file data management needs."

Awards will be presented in a number of categories, with winners chosen from a pool of more than 1,800 entrants worldwide. The Advanced Infrastructure Solutions, Storage Solutions Partner of the Year Award honors partners that have storage infrastructure practices in design and/or implementation of various storage solutions to solve customers' issues with data growth in their Windows environments. Customers are looking to Microsoft technologies to meet the growing demands on their storage infrastructure due to compliance requirements and massive year-over-year data growth. The winning partner will have developed and deployed cost-effective storage solutions that integrated Windows Server storage technologies or Windows Storage Server in customer environments.

"We have a diverse and talented partner ecosystem that each year raises the bar in the design and deployment of customer solutions built on Microsoft technologies," said Allison L. Watson, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Worldwide Partner Group. "We are pleased to recognize Brocade as one of our partners leading the field in this category."

About Brocade StorageX

Brocade StorageX is an integrated suite of applications that logically aggregate distributed file data across heterogeneous storage environments and across CIFS- and NFS-based file systems while providing policies to automate data management functions. Brocade StorageX supports tasks in key areas such as:

    -- Centralized network data management
    -- Data migration and consolidation
    -- Disaster recovery and business continuity
    -- Branch office data management
    -- Information Lifecycle Management (ILM)
    -- Storage optimization
    -- Data classification and reporting

Brocade StorageX provides administrators with powerful policies to efficiently manage distributed file data for an enterprise. Moreover, it directly addresses the needs of both administrators and users by increasing data availability, optimizing storage capacity, and simplifying storage management-all leading to significantly lower costs for enterprise data infrastructures. For more information about Brocade StorageX, visit the Brocade Web site at http://www.brocade.com/products/fan/storagex.jsp.

About Brocade

Brocade is the leading provider of networked storage solutions that help organizations connect, share, and manage their information. Organizations that use Brocade products and services are better able to optimize their IT infrastructures and ensure compliant data management. For more information, visit the Brocade Web site at http://www.brocade.com or contact the company at info@brocade.com.

Brocade, the Brocade B-wing logo, Fabric OS, File Lifecycle Manager, MyView, Secure Fabric OS, SilkWorm, and StorageX are registered trademarks and the Brocade B-weave symbol and Tapestry are trademarks of Brocade Communications Systems, Inc., in the United States and/or in other countries. FICON is a registered trademark of IBM Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. All other brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of, and are used to identify, products or services of their respective owners.

Source: Brocade