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NENG 2.15 Network Engines Integrates Appliance Management With Appliance-Optimized Linux Distribution
Hardware and image management interface integrated with an appliance-proven Linux release lowers costs and speeds time to market for Linux-based appliances
Jul 30, 2007 8:30:00 AM
Copyright Business Wire 2007

CANTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Network Engines, Inc. (NASDAQ: NENG), a leading provider of storage and security server appliance products and services, today announced two major software initiatives to help software developers to deliver their applications as appliances. First, Network Engines announced Appliance Certified Edition Linux (ACE(TM) Linux), the first Linux distribution to deliver integrated lifecycle management for server appliances. Second, the company is also announcing that Network Engines Web-based Services - NEWS(TM) - the hardware and image management system the company created to enable Windows-based applications to be deployed as full-featured appliances is now available for ACE Linux.

ACE Linux is a Conary-based Linux distribution that will be customized for each customer's platform. Network Engines will provide full platform support including drivers, which is commonly a drain on development resources if independent software vendors (ISVs) attempt to implement these tools themselves. In addition, NEI will provide performance qualification for all of its hardware platforms. This combination of tightly coupled services and technical support will enable ISVs to deliver more secure appliances with much lower development costs.

"As the appliance market grows, ISVs recognize that they need to focus on adding value to their application not the underlying components like the OS and management plane. Network Engines is meeting this need for integrated platform software along with tools to simplify installation and setup, manage images, and automate software updates," said Hugh Kelly, Vice President of Marketing for Network Engines. "We developed our Network Engines Web-based Services - NEWS(TM) - to provide these functions for Windows applications, and now we are making them available for Linux."

"From what we've seen, Network Engines' approach with their Linux distribution and NEWS will resolve many problems we have experienced with other appliance manufacturers' Linux integrations," said Fraser Thomas, Director of Business Development for Swivel Secure, a leading provider of two-factor authentication technologies based in the United Kingdom. "By sourcing the drivers and optimizing for performance, Network Engines allows us to focus on our core business application rather than diverting our engineering resources to support the underlying technologies. We expect to realize substantial benefits from quicker time-to-market and reduced engineering outlays."

"IDC research has demonstrated that customers clearly prefer that certain types of applications, especially security, be delivered in appliances", said Charles Kolodgy, research director of IDC's Secure Content and Threat Management Products research. "Network Engines' advanced technologies and services enable software vendors to meet customer demand for appliances without consuming application development resources. That spurs creativity and innovation while meeting important customer requirements."

Kelly said that integrating NEWS with the company's own distribution of Linux enables ISVs to save time, money, and engineering resources because Network Engines eliminates the burden of qualifying new OS releases and the associated expense of update and patch distribution. The NEWS infrastructure will enable all of the software on an appliance, including the OS, application and management plane, to be managed by a robust update management system. "By integrating Linux-based applications with full-featured appliance management on a Linux distribution optimized for our hardware platforms, we help software vendors get to market quickly with integrated management capabilities that reduce costs throughout the life of each unit."

Observing that Network Engines is the only company able to furnish ISVs with a full suite of appliance-related services for both Linux and Windows environments, Kelly said that the company's expertise in hardware engineering, appliance software imaging, manufacturing, and worldwide logistics enables software vendors to concentrate on enhancing their applications. "While ISVs focus on their core competencies, we provide all the services they need to deliver their solutions as true appliances in much less time - and at a fraction of the cost - than it would take them to create managed hardware on their own," Kelly said.

About Network Engines

Network Engines appliances ease deployment and enhance the manageability and security of mission-critical software applications. Our heritage of providing product and service technologies tailored to support the entire lifecycle of our customers' appliances has made us the appliance partner of choice for software market leaders.

Founded in 1997, Network Engines is headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts, and trades on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol NENG. For more information about the company's products and services, visit www.networkengines.com.

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release regarding the Company's future financial performance and any other statements about Network Engines' management's future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those factors contained in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2006 and the most recent Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2006 under the section "Risk Factors" as well as other documents that may be filed by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the Company's expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and can be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," "will," and "would" or similar words. The Company assumes no obligations to update the information included in this press release.

Network Engines and the Network Engines logo are trademarks of Network Engines, Inc. All other registered and unregistered trademarks in this document are the sole property of their respective owners.

Source: Network Engines, Inc.

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