Security Innovator NETGEAR Positioned as 'Challenger' in Unified Threat Management Magic Quadrant Report

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 5, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- NETGEAR®, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTGR), a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and Internet service providers, today announced that it has been positioned by Gartner, Inc. as a "Challenger" in the "Magic Quadrant for Unified Threat Management" report.  NETGEAR is one of the few UTM companies that provide a solution across three primary midsize infrastructure challenges: security with its ProSecure® UTM Series and STM Series security products, data backup/protection with its ReadyNAS® network storage products and network infrastructure with its switching and wireless LAN business products.

Gartner defines UTM as "appliances used by midsized businesses to meet required network security levels for Internet connectivity" and defines midsize businesses "as those with 100 to 1,000 employees, and revenue ranging from $50 million to $1 billion."  According to the report, the worldwide UTM market was worth approximately $1.5 billion in 2009, representing 25% growth over Gartner's 2007 estimate, with a forecast of 20% to 25% compound annual growth rate through 2012. The analyst firm believes the UTM market will remain squarely focused on midsize enterprises.

"We believe Gartner's placement of NETGEAR in the challenger quadrant further supports our Smart IT strategy and proven ability to deliver highly affordable, reliable, and easy-to-manage solutions tailored specifically for midsize enterprise companies," said Shane Buckley, SVP and GM of NETGEAR's SMB Business Unit. "It is gratifying to be acknowledged alongside traditional big IT vendors in the UTM space."

This confirmation comes on the heels of perfect and near-perfect product review scores for NETGEAR ProSecure products from leading security industry publications. Its ProSecure STM family of web/email threat management appliances for businesses recently received a perfect score in SC Magazine while the ProSecure UTM25 received five out of five stars in another review by the magazine.  In addition, the ProSecure UTM5 Series product received six out of six stars in PC Pro for best security appliance value.

According to the report, "The Challengers quadrant contains vendors that have achieved a sound customer base, but they aren't leading with features. Many Challengers have other successful security products in the midsize world, and are counting on the client relationship or channel strength, rather than the product, to win deals. Challenger products are often well-priced, and because of their strength in execution, these vendors can offer economic security product bundles that others can't. Many Challengers hold themselves back from becoming Leaders because they're obligated to set security or firewall products as a lower priority in their overall product sets."

More than 18 million businesses worldwide have broken free of the limitations of traditional enterprise vendors and deployed NETGEAR networking, storage and security solutions. To date, NETGEAR has delivered more than 700 petabytes of storage, 120 million Ethernet ports and two million firewalls to businesses and its 37,000 partners worldwide.

To learn more about NETGEAR business products for the midsize enterprise market, please visit: http://www.netgear.com/products/business/

About the Magic Quadrant

The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted 2010 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.

Source: Gartner, Inc., "Magic Quadrant for Unified Threat Management" by John Pescatore and Bob Walder, Oct. 22, 2010. For more information, please visit: http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?id=1456142

About NETGEAR, Inc.

NETGEAR (NASDAQGM: NTGR) is a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and Internet service providers. For consumers, we make high performance, dependable and easy home networking, storage and digital media products to connect people with the Internet and their content and devices. For businesses, we provide networking, storage and security solutions without the cost and complexity of Big IT. NETGEAR also supplies all of the top Internet service providers with retail proven, whole home solutions for their customers. NETGEAR products are built on a variety of proven technologies such as wireless, Ethernet and powerline, with a focus on reliability and ease-of-use. NETGEAR products are sold in over 28,000 retail locations around the globe, and through more than 37,000 value-added resellers. The company's headquarters are in San Jose, Calif., with additional offices in 25 countries. NETGEAR is an ENERGY STAR® partner. More information is available at http://www.NETGEAR.com or by calling (408) 907-8000. Connect with NETGEAR at http://twitter.com/NETGEAR and http://www.facebook.com/NETGEAR. 

©2010 NETGEAR, Inc. and the NETGEAR logo, ProSecure and ReadyNAS are trademarks or registered trademarks of NETGEAR, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Information is subject to change without notice. All rights reserved. 

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for

NETGEAR, Inc.: 

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Specifically, statements concerning NETGEAR's business and the expected performance characteristics, specifications, reliability, market acceptance, market growth, specific uses, user feedback and market position of NETGEAR's products and technology are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the following: the actual price, performance and ease of use of NETGEAR's products may not meet the price, performance and ease of use requirements of customers; product performance may be adversely affected by real world operating conditions; failure of products may under certain circumstances cause permanent loss of end user data; new viruses or Internet threats may develop that challenge the effectiveness of security features in NETGEAR's products; the ability of NETGEAR to market and sell its products and technology; the impact and pricing of competing products; and the introduction of alternative technological solutions. Further information on potential risk factors that could affect NETGEAR and its business are detailed in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties listed in the section entitled "Part II - Item 1A. Risk Factors," pages 36 through 52, in the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal second quarter ended June 27, 2010, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 5, 2010. NETGEAR undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

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