Crossbeam Increases Presence In China

PRESS RELEASE

BOXBOROUGH, Mass. and HONG KONG—September 3, 2009—Crossbeam Systems, Inc. today announced that it has expanded its presence in Hong Kong and hired industry veteran Marcos Ong to support the growing demand for its X-Series Next Generation Security Platform. In his role as country manager of Hong Kong, Macau and South China, Ong brings market knowledge, sales and operational expertise that will help drive expansion efforts and enable the company to take full advantage of the thriving network security market in Hong Kong.

Crossbeam has made significant inroads in China with leading partners such as B & Data Technology Co., Beijing Huahuan Electronics and Digital China, as well as customers that comprise heads of industry, including telecommunications leaders China Telecom and China Unicom. Crossbeam also counts State Grid Corporation of China, the world's largest electric power transmission and distribution company, and FAW Group, one of the "Big Five" Chinese automobile manufacturers, among its largest Chinese customers.

"China represents an enormous market opportunity as businesses look to improve their security posture while still meeting demands for scalability, manageability and cost-effectiveness," said Raymond Yang, regional sales director of Greater China for Crossbeam. "Ong has exceptional knowledge of the local market and customer requirements, and has the management expertise that will support our needs on the ground. With Ong on board and with continued support from our security and distribution partners, we are in a good position to drive growth in the region and support customer demand."

According to an August 2009 report from Gartner, Inc., China was the largest security market in the Asia-Pacific region in 2008, followed by Australia and South Korea. Matthew Cheung, senior research analyst at Gartner, noted that the demand for IT security in China is high. Some of the market drivers cited are the demand for data security and privacy, along with the need to protect IT infrastructure from the ever-increasing rise in sophisticated and targeted attacks in Asia-Pacific. For organizations operating in mature markets such as Singapore and Hong Kong, security compliance is also high on the list of IT priorities (Gartner Reports the Asia Pacific Security Market Grew 28.3 Percent in 2008, August 2009).

"China is experiencing a groundswell of businesses seeking stronger and better-performing network security solutions," said Ong. "The X-Series has gained enormous traction as the only platform that can deliver the best security solutions on the market, while providing the speed, scalability and flexibility that is required by customers. I look forward to meeting this demand and building upon Crossbeam's success in China with our valued partners."

Ong brings more than 15 years of sales, business development and management experience in Hong Kong. Most recently, he was the general manager for F5 Networks (Hong Kong) Ltd., where he developed its channel strategy and oversaw the company's growth in Hong Kong and Macau. Prior to F5, Ong worked in various sales management positions at Symantec and Cisco, where he played a key role in expanding major opportunities for network security and driving revenue among leading financial and service provider customers. He has also held regional sales and market development positions at Agilent Technologies and Hewlett Packard.

Crossbeam Addresses the Media At a press conference and luncheon held today at 11:30 a.m. at the JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong, Crossbeam met with members of the media to provide details about its expansion and discuss Hong Kong's network security market. Crossbeam executives also shared their go-to-market plans with best-of-breed security and integration partners to develop opportunities for deploying next-generation security services in Hong Kong and throughout China.

Following the press luncheon, Crossbeam hosted a seminar where executives from partner companies Check Point, IBM and Trend Micro delivered presentations on the future of network security.

"Our solutions with Crossbeam address customers' Web and messaging security needs," said Goh Chee Hoh, senior director, Sales Operation Asia Pacific and managing director, Hong Kong for Trend Micro. "We look forward to working with Crossbeam to accelerate these deployments locally and address the demand for security solutions that can protect corporate assets and meet evolving compliance requirements, without impeding the pace of business."

"Crossbeam continues to be a strong partner for Check Point and this expansion will greatly complement our efforts to protect against threats to corporate networks and data centers of our Hong Kong-based customers," said Daniel Lee, regional director for Check Point in North Asia. "Crossbeam's X-Series offers customers an additional platform to deploy Check Point's latest R70 Security Gateway and intrusion prevention system."

Crossbeam's newest partner in the region, B & Data Technology Co., a major distributor of IT security solutions in Hong Kong and China, also joined the event.

"We aim to provide the best IT services and solutions to businesses in Hong Kong and mainland China," said Louis Fan, CEO of B & Data Technology Company Limited. "As the only security platform on the market that can consolidate and virtualize multiple, best-of-breed security applications on a single, carrier-class chassis, Crossbeam will be a great addition to our roster of security products, particularly as we focus on the needs of large enterprises and service providers."

About Crossbeam Crossbeam Systems, Inc. transforms the way enterprises, service providers and government agencies architect and deliver security services. The basis of Crossbeam's solution is its Next Generation Security Platform, a highly scalable software and hardware platform that facilitates the consolidation, virtualization and simplification of security services delivery, while preserving the customers' choice of best-of-breed security applications. Crossbeam offers the only security platform that delivers unparalleled network performance, scalability, adaptability and resiliency. Customers choose Crossbeam to intelligently manage risk, accelerate and maintain compliance, and protect their businesses from evolving threats. Crossbeam is headquartered in Boxborough, Mass., and has offices in Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. More information is available at http://www.crossbeam.com/.