Wednesday, 30 May 2007

Brocade Joins Microsoft Interop Vendor Alliance

Brocade, a networked storage solutions provider, has joined the Interop Vendor Alliance, a community of software and hardware vendors working to enhance interoperability with Microsoft systems. Brocade has worked closely with Microsoft since the inception of the Microsoft Storage Partner Program in 2002 and believes that joining the Interop Vendor Alliance will further its efforts to help ensure that Brocade technologies and solutions are optimised for performance in customers' multivendor environments.

Microsoft technologies and solutions are deployed in the vast majority of today's IT infrastructures. By participating in the Interop Vendor Alliance, Brocade will continue to pursue Storage Area Network (SAN) and File Area Network (FAN) technologies and solutions that are integrated and interoperable with Microsoft technologies for optimum performance. Products will be tested in a multivendor environment, making it easier to ensure interoperability is achieved. Joining the alliance will also allow Brocade to publish joint evidence on how the companies are addressing interoperability.

"Brocade is a welcome addition to the Interop Vendor Alliance," said Bruce Burns, senior director, Strategic Relations, Microsoft. "Brocade has always worked closely with Microsoft, and we believe an even tighter integration will provide our mutual customers with highly optimised solutions for improving and streamlining data management in their environments."

"Many of today's IT organisations rely on Brocade SAN and FAN solutions and associated services offerings to ensure that their enterprise-wide data is stored securely and readily accessible," said Tom Buiocchi, Brocade's Vice President of Worldwide Marketing. "The ability to work even more closely with Microsoft and other vendors to enhance interoperability with Microsoft systems will lead to even more secure and efficient IT implementations as well as overall improved IT systems performance for our mutual customers."