Blue Coat Positioned in Leaders Quadrant in WAN Optimization Controller Magic Quadrant

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blue Coat Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:BCSI), a leading provider of Web security and WAN optimization solutions, today announced that it has been positioned in the Leaders quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for WAN Optimization Controllers¹ by research and advisory firm Gartner, Inc. Blue Coat^® Proxy SG^® appliances accelerate and optimize email and file access in addition to enterprise applications, live and on-demand video, Web content and cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications.

“Blue Coat uniquely addresses WAN optimization requirements for both traditional data types and applications, such as backup and disaster recovery, while also addressing the critical and growing need to accelerate Web-based applications and multimedia.”

“The requirements of the WAN optimization market are changing dramatically. As current key drivers of Internet traffic growth are the increasing adoption of video, the growing use of Web-based applications and the increasing adoption of cloud computing services. These major market trends require that the WAN optimization solutions support new performance needs,” said Steve Daheb, chief marketing officer and senior vice president, Blue Coat Systems. “Blue Coat uniquely addresses WAN optimization requirements for both traditional data types and applications, such as backup and disaster recovery, while also addressing the critical and growing need to accelerate Web-based applications and multimedia.”

To read the report, click here.

In addition, Gartner evaluated Blue Coat ProxySG appliances, and Blue Coat has been positioned in the 2010 "Magic Quadrant for Secure Web Gateway"². To read this report click here.

Blue Coat ProxySG appliances provide users with a powerful and flexible solution for improving application performance in branch offices while managing Web and video traffic on the network. They provide a comprehensive set of WAN optimization features that dramatically accelerate response time and reduce bandwidth consumption through the use of industry-leading compression, protocol optimization, byte caching and object caching technologies. The appliances have integrated caching and stream-splitting to greatly reduce the network load of on-demand and live video from the Web or internal servers. ProxySG appliances enable video to scale across the enterprise and protect against video floods that can overtake business-critical traffic optimized by traditional WAN optimization appliances. In addition, the appliances can accelerate content and applications from the public Web without requiring cloud deployment of another appliance. By accelerating internal and Web-based applications for branch and mobile users, Blue Coat WAN optimization solutions enhance productivity across the distributed enterprise.

Please visit www.freethewan.com for more information about Blue Coat WAN optimization solutions.

About the Magic Quadrant

The Magic Quadrants are copyrighted 2010 by Gartner, Inc. and are reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Blue Coat Systems

Blue Coat Systems is the technology leader in Application Delivery Networking. Blue Coat offers an Application Delivery Network Infrastructure that provides the visibility, acceleration and security required to optimize and secure the flow of information to any user, on any network, anywhere. This application intelligence enables enterprises to tightly align network investments with business requirements, speed decision making and secure business applications for long-term competitive advantage. Blue Coat also offers service provider solutions for managed security and WAN optimization, as well as carrier-grade caching solutions to save on bandwidth and enhance the end-user Web experience. For additional information, please visit www.bluecoat.com.

1. Gartner, Inc., "Magic Quadrant for WAN Optimization Controllers" by Severine Real, Andy Rolfe and Joe Skorupa, December 2010.

2. Gartner, Inc., "Magic Quadrant for Secure Web Gateway" by Peter Firstbrook and Lawrence Orans, January 8, 2010.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding Blue Coat Systems’ expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future, and including statements regarding the capabilities and expected performance of Blue Coat Systems’ products. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based upon information available to Blue Coat Systems as of the date hereof, and Blue Coat Systems assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These and other risks relating to Blue Coat Systems’ business are set forth in the Securities and Exchange Commission reports filed by Blue Coat Systems, including but not limited to the risks described in the most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, particularly under the heading “Risk Factors.”

Blue Coat, ProxySG and the Blue Coat logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Blue Coat Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.