COSTA MESA, Calif., March 15, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Emulex Corporation (NYSE:ELX), the market leader in Fibre Channel host bus adapters (HBAs) and a leading supplier of intelligent building blocks for next generation storage networking systems, announced today that VARBusiness proclaimed the company one of North America's top information-technology (IT) vendors in terms of the breath and depth of its channel partner program offerings. The publication awarded Emulex a five-star rating based on the strength of its channel partnering programs for the value-added resellers of its products.
Concurrently, Emulex introduced a variety of new training options available via its web-based Emulex Training Center (ETC), and a promotion to assist its channel partners in staying at the forefront of Emulex's offerings and at the leading edge of storage networking technology. The new Emulex Training Center (ETC) web site provides valuable resources to help partners qualify, choose, sell and/or support Emulex products. The site includes an E-Learning training course that uses streaming video and interactive components to educate its channel partners on the HBA market and Emulex product differentiators.
In a related effort, SAN OEM, distributor and reseller partner representatives who pass the Emulex E-Learning course can ultimately earn certification as an Emulex Authorized Reseller Network (EARN) "Certified" member. EARN "Certified" members receive exclusive access to technical training, strategy sessions, market trends, product information, new technology developments, presentation materials, channel event schedules and selling tips.
Finally, worldwide OEM, distributor and reseller representatives that pass the E-Learning course from March 1 to June 30, 2004 will receive a gift pack valued at $50.00 (USD) and a chance to win a dream trip to a 2004 event: the Summer Olympics in Greece, the Indy 500, The US Open or the Pepsi 400, through the "Win a Dream Trip on Emulex" contest. The ETC site and E-Learning tools are located at http://www.emulex.com/training/index.html. For more information on becoming an EARN member, go to http://www.emulex.com/partners/earn.html. For more information on the "Win a Dream Trip on Emulex" contest, visit http://www.emulex.com/sales/promo.html.
"Our five-star rating from VARBusiness results from constantly providing value to our partners, and this value is demonstrated by initiatives such as those we are introducing through channel education," says Bob Sparanese, senior manager, worldwide channels at Emulex. "While many vendors have been reported to be cutting back on training and support to the broad channel, Emulex continues to invest in new and ongoing channel initiatives. With the new web-based programs, our partners quickly and easily access expanded information and support."
Of the more than 280 vendor program entries reviewed in six categories, 120 entries (87 individual companies) received the coveted five-star rating in the magazine's tenth annual Partner Programs Guide survey. The Partner Program Guide appears in the March 15, 2004 issue of VARBusiness.
Robert C. DeMarzo, VARBusiness editorial director, notes that the solution providers through which Emulex channels its products are critical to providing the proper IT strategies and IT solutions to corporations and institutions. "Through their expertise, solution providers add value to Emulex's products, ensuring proper, cost-effective implementation of technologies needed to drive business forward," he said.
About VARBusiness magazine
For the past 17 years, VARBusiness' has delivered access to the Solution Provider and Integrator community. VARBusiness provides strategic business insight and technology direction for Solution Providers through industry-defining research, in-depth editorial, channel events and innovative Web services, enabling these business and technology integrators to make strategic decisions for their businesses, partnerships and customers. VARBusiness has been the recipient of numerous industry awards for both editorial content and design, including the 2003 Gold Eddie award as best BtoB Computing Publication. For additional information about VARBusiness products, events and services, please visit our Web site at www.varbusiness.com
About Emulex
Emulex Corporation is the world leader in Fibre Channel HBAs and delivers a broad range of intelligent building blocks for next generation storage networking systems. Emulex was named one of Forbes Magazine's 25 Fastest Growing Technology Companies, and ranked number 15 in Deloitte & Touche's 2003 Technology Fast 50.
The world's leading server and storage providers rely on Emulex HBAs, embedded storage switching and I/O controller products to build reliable, scalable and high performance storage solutions. The Emulex award-winning product families, including its LightPulse(tm) HBAs and InSpeedTM embedded storage switching products, are based on internally developed ASIC, firmware and software technologies, and offer customers high performance, scalability, flexibility and reduced total cost of ownership. The company's products have been selected by the world's leading server and storage providers, including Dell, EMC, Fujitsu Ltd., Fujitsu Siemens, Groupe Bull, HP, Hitachi Data Systems, IBM, NEC, Network Appliance, Quantum Corp., StorageTek, Sun Microsystems, Unisys and Xyratex. In addition, Emulex includes industry leaders Brocade, Computer Associates, Intel, McDATA, Microsoft and VERITAS among its strategic partners. Corporate headquarters are located in Costa Mesa, California. News releases and other information about Emulex Corporation are available at http://www.emulex.com.
EMULEX -- We network storage
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: With the exception of historical information, the statements set forth above include forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. The company wishes to caution readers that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Those factors include the rapidly changing nature of technology, evolving industry standards and frequent introductions of new products and enhancements by competitors; fluctuation in the growth of Fibre Channel and IP markets; changes in economic conditions or changes in end-user demand for technology solutions; fluctuations or delays in customer orders; the highly competitive nature of the markets for Emulex's products; Emulex's ability to gain market acceptance for its products; the company's ability to attract and retain skilled personnel; the company's reliance on third-party suppliers. These and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are also discussed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its recent filings on Forms 8-K, 10-K and 10-Q.
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