McDATA Announces 'Elite Solutions Partner Program' for Delivering Fibre
Channel FabricPak(TM) Solutions Through the Systems Integrator Channel
PR Newswire - November 11, 1998 15:22
BROOMFIELD, Colo., Nov. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- McDATA Corp., the Enterprise Fibre Channel Company, today announced an
innovative partnership program for delivering complete, end-to-end FabricPak solutions using Fibre Channel technology through the
systems integrator channel. McDATA has already partnered with several solutions integrators (SIs), including PDC Solutions,
CompuCom Systems and International Business Solutions (IBS).
"In our discussions with Fortune 1000 companies, corporate IT users expressed intense interest in the benefits of Fibre
Channel-based Enterprise Resource Networks(TM) using McDATA's fault tolerant ED-5000 Fibre Channel Director. However, they
also requested that the SIs, with whom they do business, provide the necessary services for implementation," stated Jack
McDonnell, chairman, president and CEO of McDATA.
"The Elite Solutions Partner Program marks another 'first' in the Fibre Channel industry," added Michael Klayko, the executive vice
president of McDATA Sales and Marketing. "Our new partnership program offers SIs the benefit of McDATA's professional
services and methodologies, comprehensive education, marketing programs and interoperability expertise for high- availability,
switched Fibre Channel networks, in addition to access to the industry's only Fibre Channel Director. In turn, our SI partners can
deliver value to their end-user customers with comprehensive planning, fully tested solutions, shorter time-to-implementation and
worldwide access to 24x7 on-site service."
McDATA's Elite Solutions Partner Program provides the products, information and skills that let SIs successfully market and
implement high- availability Enterprise Resource Networks. FabricPak solutions for SUN and NT consolidation are comprehensive
packages comprised of hardware, software and services that solve today's toughest IT challenges, including server and storage
consolidation, high-speed backup and recovery, high-availability data access and systems clustering.
Elite Solutions Partners have access to McDATA's state-of-the-art Systems Integration Lab where customized solutions are
developed and interoperability is extensively tested. Partners also have access to this industry-leading lab for consultation, training,
custom testing and pre-staging of FabricPak solutions. Solutions integrators interested in becoming a McDATA Elite Solutions
Partner should contact Monika King at 303.460.4322 or mking@mcdata.com.
"PDC is proud to be the very first Elite Solutions Partner for McDATA's line of FabricPak solutions," stated Robert P. Bonocore,
president and CEO of PDC Solutions, Inc. "Our company has been a leader in networked storage management solutions since 1986.
We chose McDATA connectivity products as an ideal complement to PDC's Celestra Power solution from Intelliguard for host-
less data backup and recovery in a high-speed, Fibre Channel-based environment." PDC will now deliver an integrated
McDATA/Celestra solution, which provides users with continuous access to their data while dramatically conserving system
resources by offloading the CPU, LAN and I/O busses.
"We selected the McDATA products to provide connectivity and the required performance parameters between our users' disk
storage and multi-vendor servers," stated Deborah Hoffler, principal, Integrated Business Solutions.
"McDATA's extensive knowledge and testing of Fibre Channel technology, coupled with their FabricPak solutions, enable
CompuCom to provide our customers with switched, high-performance, server-server and server-storage connectivity solutions,"
said Wayne Uhrig, manager of Enterprise Engineering at CompuCom Systems. CompuCom is a leading provider of network
integration services and distributed desktop products, and one of the first solutions integrators to become a McDATA Elite
Solutions Partner.
About McDATA
With more than 700,000 fibre optic ports shipped to date, McDATA is the leading supplier of enterprise-class Directors and
switches to major server and storage vendors. McDATA is the only company to develop an enterprise-class Fibre Channel Director
for open systems and furnish enterprise fabric connectivity management for a complete family of connectivity products.
McDATA's end-to-end, FabricPak solutions help IT organizations implement Enterprise Resource Networks using Fibre Channel
technology. McDATA has more than 270 employees worldwide. Information about McDATA solutions can be found at
mcdata.com or by calling 1-800-545-5773.
About PDC Solutions, Inc.
PDC is a national systems integrator and supplier of leading computer industry products, including Sun Microsystems, Microsoft,
Intelliguard Software, Gateway 2000, StorageTek, Oracle and Netscape. PDC provides products, services and solutions for both
UNIX and NT networked systems. The company is a leader in standards-based storage management and offers security consulting
and enterprise-wide security audits, as well as smart cards and firewall protection of network data assets. For more information,
contact PDC at 800-654-4PDC, or visit the company on the Internet at pdc.com.
About CompuCom
CompuCom Systems, Inc., headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is a leading provider of network integration services and distributed
desktop products for corporate customers worldwide. CompuCom's services include: LAN/WAN projects, consulting and asset
tracking; network management, help desk and field engineering; procurement, configuration, distribution and software management.
CompuCom is accessible via the Internet at compucom.com.
About IBS
Integrated Business Solutions is the number one UNIX hardware and software supplier for Utah, Nevada and Idaho. For five years,
IBS has provided Open Systems' enterprise business solutions to Intermountain State companies. Our engineering and marketing
experts assist clients with IT solution integration, including, hardware, software and services. IBS has installed over $30 million
dollars of IT equipment for the State of Utah. IBS is accessible via the Internet at pdc.com.
For more information, contact: Carle Churgin, Carle Churgin Communications, (303) 449-7688, churgin@churgin.com or Linda
Hardman, McDATA Corporation, (303) 460-4442, lhardman@mcdata.com.
McDATA and the McDATA logo are registered trademarks and FabricPak and Enterprise Resource Network are trademarks of
McDATA Corporation. All other trademarks and product names are the property of their respective owners.
SOURCE McDATA Corp.
/CONTACT: Carle Churgin of Carle Churgin Communications, 303-449-7688,
churgin@churgin.com; or Linda Hardman of McDATA Corporation, 303-460-4442,
lhardman@mcdata.com/
/Web site: compucom.com
/Web site: pdc.com
/Web site: mcdata.com
CO: McDATA Corp.; PDC Solutions, Inc.; CompuCom Systems, Inc.; Integrated
Business Solutions
ST: Colorado, Texas
IN: CPR TLS
SU: PDT
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