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WatchGuard Vaults Over 500,000 Network Security Appliance Milestone

Global Install Base of WatchGuard Unified Threat Management (UTM) Appliances Passes 500,000 Threshold; Highlights Accelerated Growth Opportunity for Channel Partners

SEATTLE - April 29, 2008. WatchGuard® Technologies, a global provider of network security solutions, today announced that it surpassed the 500,000 unified threat management (UTM) install base milestone, driven by increased enterprise demand for multi-layered network security and unprecedented channel growth in key markets.

"By working with our global channel partners, WatchGuard is accelerating the market for unified threat management security appliances, and is expanding the adoption of UTM as a cost-effective, highly secure means of securing mission critical network resources and data," said Eric Aarrestad, Vice President of Marketing at WatchGuard Technologies. "This milestone marks an inflection point of multi-threat security appliances as businesses move beyond protecting against spam, viruses and intrusion prevention to more holistic, extensible network security."

Wick Hill, a leading value added distributor in the UK and Germany exemplifies the growing opportunity for channel partners in providing integrated security. Recognizing the ever increasing need for sophisticated threat management solutions, Wick Hill excels in providing its customers with a comprehensive array of UTM solutions that encompass small business and branch office wireless devices to high-performance, enterprise class UTM and VPN solutions.

"Increasingly, customers are asking for integrated VPN capabilities with secure corporate networks so that remote and mobile workers can safely and securely access company data from where ever they are," said Ian Kilpatrick, Chairman of Wick Hill. "By coupling the breadth of WatchGuard UTM solutions with Wick Hill’s expertise, our customers gain a competitive edge that surpasses appliance speeds and feeds."

Recent industry analyst reports confirm WatchGuard’s view of accelerated UTM growth among industry segments. WatchGuard attributes the increasing acceptance of UTM in the enterprise and SME markets to an increased focus on return on investment, lower total cost of ownership, investment protection and other related factors, such as ease of management, high-performance, and greater network visibility and granular control.

Relentless Drumbeat of New UTM and VPN Introductions Skyrockets WatchGuard
In late 2007, WatchGuard took the leading price/performance position in the industry with its UTM appliances. This was confirmed by an independent review and test of raw speed versus cost of appliance, in which WatchGuard squarely came out as the highest performing cost/megabyte throughput UTM device, and was likewise proclaimed as having "the best firewall price/performance punch."

Building on its price/performance lead, WatchGuard soon unveiled its most robust and capable appliance upgrade with WatchGuard Fireware® 10 and Edge 10. With these free software upgrades, WatchGuard customers gained enhanced business security, greater network visibility and unprecedented network management capabilities, further vaulting WatchGuard ahead in providing the best in class, multi-threat security solutions.

By the beginning of 2008, WatchGuard had received numerous awards and industry accolades for its pioneering work. This included the coveted Frost & Sullivan, "2008 North American Network Security Technology of the Year Award" for the company’s SSL VPN technology. This award-winning SSL VPN technology is now available in all WatchGuard UTM appliances, as well as the new WatchGuard SSL VPN 500 and 1000 enterprise SSL VPN appliances.

WatchGuard Application Proxy Firewall Technology – Foundation for 500,000 Units Installed
Key to eclipsing the 500,000 install base milestone is the WatchGuard application proxy firewall technology. All WatchGuard UTM appliances use WatchGuard’s application proxy firewall technology, which is fundamentally more secure than competitive offerings that rely on packet filtering alone. Packet filtering only inspects the bottom three-to-four layers of the OSI communication model (physical, datalink, network and transport), leaving several layers, including layer-7, the application layer, vulnerable to exploitation.

By enforcing deep packet inspection in concert with its application proxy firewall technology, WatchGuard UTM appliances can inspect all seven layers of the OSI model, thus providing unmatched, holistic and extensible network security.

About WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.
Since 1996, WatchGuard® Technologies, Inc. has been the advanced technology leader of network security solutions, providing mission-critical security to hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide. The WatchGuard Firebox® X family of wired and wireless unified threat management appliances and WatchGuard SSL VPN remote access solutions provide extensible network security, unparalleled network visibility, management and control. WatchGuard products are backed by WatchGuard LiveSecurity® Service, an innovative support, maintenance, and education program. WatchGuard is headquartered in Seattle and has offices serving North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. To learn more, visit www.watchguard.com.

WatchGuard, Firebox, and LiveSecurity are registered trademarks of WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. All other marks are property of their respective owners.