Network Appliance Listed in ''Visionary'' Quadrant for SAN Integrated Solutions and Storage Services

Business Wire, July 6, 2004

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Network Appliance(TM), Inc. (Nasdaq:NTAP), the leader in advanced networked storage solutions for today's data-intensive enterprise, was listed in the "visionary" quadrant for SAN (storage area network) integrated solutions in Gartner's research note "Magic Quadrant for SAN Integrated Solutions, 1H04"(1) and for storage services in Gartner's "Magic Quadrant for Storage Services, 1H04."(2)

"Providing unified storage solutions with SAN and/or NAS capabilities in a single system is a unique differentiator and advantage for us," said Patrick Rogers, vice president of Marketing at Network Appliance. "Being listed in the visionary quadrant in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for SAN integrated solutions is a tremendous honor. It confirms our progress in establishing a solid FC SAN business, our innovation in IP SANs through iSCSI, and our ability to unify customers' storage networks with a simple, multi-protocol product line. Our enterprise customers expect a high degree of consulting and integration from us, and we have worked hard to deliver and exceed their expectations."

Network Appliance first debuted SAN solutions in October 2002 with the launch of the industry's first FAS (fabric-attached storage) systems capable of handling both SAN and/or NAS data traffic. The company has also been a pioneer and market leader in bringing iSCSI to enterprise customers and recently completed the transition of its entire primary storage line to FAS with the introduction of the midrange FAS920 and FAS920c, giving customers maximum flexibility to deploy their storage systems in whatever networked storage configuration is best for a particular application or set of applications and to change the data access method as storage needs change.

Network Appliance has also been making significant investments in its global services organization. The company has added new professional services, consulting, and integration capabilities to its portfolio and continues to win awards for its self-service Web portal and traditional customer service and support offerings.

Both Gartner research notes are available from Gartner at www.gartner.com. The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted May 2004 by Gartner, Inc. and is 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. Gartner defines visionaries as vendors who have a clear vision of market direction and are focused on preparing for that, but they can still improve in terms of optimizing service delivery.

About Network Appliance

Network Appliance is a world leader in unified storage solutions for today's data-intensive enterprise. Since its inception in 1992, Network Appliance has delivered technology, product, and partner firsts that continue to drive "The evolution of storage.(TM)" Information about Network Appliance(TM) solutions and services is available at www.netapp.com.

(1) Gartner Dataquest, "1H04 Update: Magic Quadrant for SAN Integrated Solutions," Nick Allen, Robert Passmore. 2004.

(2) Gartner Dataquest, "1H04 Update: Magic Quadrant for Storage Services," A. Couture, R. Passmore, M. Chuba, 2004.

NetApp is a registered trademark and Network Appliance and The evolution of storage are trademarks of Network Appliance, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such.