NetApp Representative Appointed to the Fibre Channel Industry Association Board of Directors

Business Wire, Oct 31, 2006

Joining With Technology Leaders to Drive Operations and Vision for the Fibre Channel Market

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Network Appliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) today announced that Jeff Eckard, a SAN product specialist at Network Appliance, has been appointed to the Fibre Channel Industry Association (FCIA) board of directors. Eckard joins other technology leaders to oversee the association's vision, mission, and charter.

The FCIA is a nonprofit international organization made up of manufacturers, system integrators, developers, vendors, industry professionals, and end users, all committed to delivering a broad base of Fibre Channel infrastructure technology to support a wide array of applications in the mass storage and IT-based arenas.

"Today, Fibre Channel is the dominant solution for mission-critical applications that require high throughput and minimal latencies, while maintaining both data integrity and accurate delivery of information," said Skip Jones, chair of FCIA. "The FCIA is focused on broadening the market for Fibre Channel SAN solutions both in the data center and in SMB environments, and we welcome the addition of NetApp energy, expertise, and leadership to our organization."

The FCIA board of directors consists of six seats elected by the FCIA members and three seats that may be appointed by the board. Meeting face to face at least four times a year, the board addresses organizational issues and opportunities, including strategic planning, membership development, marketing and public relations, technical output, operational planning, and more.

In addition to his position on the FCIA board of directors, Eckard is senior product manager for Fibre Channel storage networking in the SAN Business Unit at Network Appliance. He is responsible for managing host and SAN ecosystem integration with NetApp[R] storage systems. He has 10 years of experience delivering and positioning solutions in the technology industry for startup to Fortune 25 firms.

"Fibre Channel SAN solutions have become a major component of the NetApp product portfolio," said Rich Clifton, VP and general manager, Networked Storage Business Units at NetApp. "We view participation in the FCIA as an important component of our strategy to grow the market and maintain our track record as the fastest growing Fibre Channel SAN provider in the industry."

About FCIA

The Fibre Channel Industry Association (FCIA) is a nonprofit international organization whose sole purpose is to act as the independent technology and marketing voice of the Fibre Channel industry. We are committed to helping member organizations promote and position Fibre Channel, and to providing a focal point for Fibre Channel information, standards advocacy, and education.

FCIA members include manufacturers, system integrators, developers, vendors, industry professionals, and end users. The member-led working groups and committees focus on creating and championing the Fibre Channel technology roadmaps, targeting applications that include data storage, video, networking, and storage area network (SAN) management. For more information, go to www.fibrechannel.org.

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. Information about Network Appliance[TM] solutions and services is available at www.netapp.com.

NetApp and the Network Appliance logo are registered trademarks and Network Appliance is a trademark 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.