SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwire - Mar 28, 2012) - [ Brocade ] (NASDAQ: [ BRCD ]) today announced the winners of its fifth annual Channel Partner Summit Awards. The 14 distributors and resellers were recognized for their exceptional performance in delivering Brocade^® networking solutions and services in 2011. The award winners were honored at the 2012 Brocade Channel Partner Summit, an exclusive event for strategic channel partners, held from March 26 to 28 in Las Vegas.

Winners were selected based on a broad set of criteria, including technical certification and expertise, revenue growth, overall business performance and demonstration of "out-of-the-box- thinking" to drive high-impact programs that generate increased business opportunities, while capitalizing on current technology trends.

All winners are part of the [ Brocade Alliance Partner Network ] (APN) program in which partners are measured based upon technical certifications and expertise rather than on strict revenue requirements. Additionally, partners have access to a wide array of tools, resources and program initiatives that help them achieve profitability quickly with minimal up-front investment.

The 2012 Channel Partner Summit Award winners are:

North America and Federal Distribution Awards

• Distributor of the Year -- [ Avnet ]
• Federal Distributor of the Year -- [ immixGroup ]

North America Value-added Reseller (VAR) Awards

• Fast Start Partner of the Year -- [ TorreyPoint ]
• Growth Partner of the Year -- [ Goldfield ]
• Technical Excellence Partner of the Year -- [ Layer 3 Communications ]
• Campus Partner of the Year -- [ BEAR Data Solutions ]
• Ethernet Fabric Partner of the Year -- [ Solid IT Networks ]
• Innovator Partner of the Year -- [ Breaker Group, Inc. ]

Federal VAR Awards

• Fast Start Federal Partner of the Year -- [ TVAR Solutions ]
• Technical Excellence Federal Partner of the Year -- [ ViON ]
• SAN Federal Partner of the Year -- [ ViON ]
• LAN Federal Partner of the Year -- [ PacStar ]

Latin America Awards

• Mexico & Caribbean and Central America (CACE) Partner of the Year -- [ CLAdirect ]
• Spanish-Speaking Americas (SSA) & Brazil Partner of the Year -- [ Black IT ]

"The channel's proximity to the end customer makes them a natural fit as the 'first mile to the cloud,' which is why we've been keenly focused on delivering innovative technology solutions coupled with high-value channel programs that enable them to be successful in this era of transformation," said Laurie Potratz, senior director of North American Channel Sales at Brocade. "As the channel continues to evolve and experience change at a pace unlike any we've seen in recent years, our channel partners have shown an amazing ability to not only adapt, but to grow and embrace new business opportunities."

The fifth annual Brocade Channel Partner Summit brought together distributors and VARs to discuss best practices, share selling strategies, participate in meetings with Brocade executives, and network with peers. This year's Summit agenda also featured a keynote from New York Times Award Winning Author, [ Don Yaeger ], as well as discussions highlighting the strategic value for the channel around Brocade's vision for "[ The Effortless Network ]™."

To learn more about the Brocade APN program, visit [ www.brocade.com/apn ].

About Brocade
Brocade (NASDAQ: [ BRCD ]) networking solutions help the world's leading organizations transition smoothly to a world where applications and information reside anywhere. ([ www.brocade.com ])

Brocade, Brocade Assurance, the B-wing symbol, DCX, Fabric OS, MLX, SAN Health, VCS, and VDX are registered trademarks, and AnyIO, Brocade One, CloudPlex, Effortless Networking, ICX, NET Health, OpenScript, and The Effortless Network are trademarks of Brocade Communications Systems, Inc., in the United States and/or in other countries. Other brands, products, or service names mentioned may be trademarks of their respective owners.

© 2012 Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.