NETAPP LAUNCHES ITS FIRST SOUTHEAST ASIAN INNOVATION CENTER

Singapore —July 30, 2008— As a commitment to the market in Southeast Asia (ASEAN), NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP), storage and data management solutions provider, has launched its first ASEAN regional innovation center in Singapore. Part of a longer term strategic growth plan first rolled out in December 2007, this NetApp Innovation Center (NIC), estimated to be worth US$1.5 million, is a showcase center for partners and customers from ASEAN to test business-critical applications on the next generation storage technology infrastructure.

According to Suresh Nair, Managing Director, NetApp ASEAN, “With customers seeking new ways to address business challenges and demands, it is critical today to demonstrate solutions that deliver real competitive business advantage. In recognition, late last year, the company made a decision to invest in the NetApp Innovation Center. With the launch of the center, this vision is realized as customers and partners now have a platform to collaborate and work towards business leadership with innovative technologies.”

With mission-critical applications from Microsoft, VMware, Oracle, SAP and Symantec deployed in the NIC, customers can experience in real-time, the storage technologies that support business-critical data storage and management requirements. “We have built an environment where our partners can cost effectively trial and demonstrate their own solutions with simulation scenarios, performance and stress tests to customers from around the region. This collaboration and partnership extends the NetApp brand and value proposition in the market,” said Suresh.

Incorporating the latest in storage technologies, the NIC features real-world applications in a single and unified platform, across high-performance SAN and NAS computing environments. In addition, the center showcases a broad range of virtualization technologies and solutions which demonstrate the ability to dramatically improve server utilization and provide rapid recovery in the case of datacenter failures.

Test and Development Bed for Partners
According to analyst organizations, enterprises across the region are projected to spend US$13.4 billion on IT services in 2008. This includes more than 40 per cent on internet, data storage and management solutions. In support of this growth, the NIC also functions as the test and development bed for NetApp Infocomm Local Industry Upgrading Programme (iLIUP) partners in Singapore. The center will also leverage other similar governmental programmes in the region.

The iLIUP programme was introduced by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, to match-make multi-national companies (MNCs) with local companies to capitalise on each party’s strengths. Through these partnerships, MNCs’ will improve their understanding of local knowledge, markets and in turn local companies will gain access to global networks.
NetApp is the first iLIUP partner in the data management and storage sector.

IDA Assistant Chief Executive (Infrastructure Development) Khoong Hock Yun said: "IDA welcomes NetApp as a our latest partner in iLIUP, which promotes strategic and mutually beneficial partnerships between Singapore’s infocomm companies and infocomm multinational corporations (MNCs). NetApp will be the first iLIUP MNC in the data management and storage space and this will provide our companies the opportunity to expand their market reach."

The NIC features an impressive range of industry-leading solutions including MetroCluster, FlexClone, FlexVol, SnapMirror, ReplicatorX, Onaro, SnapManager and multiple protocols (CIFS, iSCSI, NFS, FCP). Software applications include VMware, Microsoft Exchange, SQL, Share Point, SAP, Oracle, Brocade VFM, Symantec NetBackup and Enterprise Vault.

“VMware and NetApp have enjoyed a longstanding, productive relationship, and the NetApp Innovation Center further expands our engagement to provide local customers in Asia with high-impact solutions based on VMware virtualization and NetApp storage,” said Jim Lenox, General Manager, VMware Asia South. “The center will allow both companies to leverage resources and expertise that help customers create flexible IT environments to reduce capital and operating expenses, ensure business continuity, strengthen security and improve energy efficiencies.”

"We are pleased to continue our successful partnership with NetApp as we share a common commitment to innovation that clearly resonates with our customers worldwide. Information is a key asset for organizations today and storage technologies must constantly evolve and improve to keep ahead of the data explosion. Symantec's participation in NetApp Innovation Center is a natural extension of our strategic partnership and provides end users and partners a valuable platform to test and validate our joint solutions prior to implementation as they strive to achieve greater storage optimization," said John Lee, Director, Channels & Alliance, Asia South region,
Symantec Corporation.

“The NetApp Innovation Center truly shows the company’s commitment to architect storage solutions that are highly compatible with Microsoft technologies. Through the live demonstrations, our customers would have a clearer understanding of the need for competent storage solutions within the Microsoft environment,” said KC Phua, Group Manager, Server & Tools Business, Microsoft Singapore.

“This center is a tangible commitment to our customers and partners forging deeper understanding and ties with our partners in the region,” reiterated Suresh Nair.