METG META Group (MM)

NetScreen Achieves Leader Status in METAspectrum(SM) Evaluation of the Enterprise Firewall Market SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NetScreen Technologies, Inc. today announced that it has been ranked as a market leader in META Group's recently released METAspectrum(SM) for enterprise firewalls. META Group is a leading research and consulting firm that focuses on information technology and business transformation strategies. NetScreen was positioned in the leadership segment of the METAspectrum analysis, and was specifically recognized for its successful track record of anticipating and executing upon market and technology inflection points, such as pioneering the movement to purpose-built, hardware-based firewall solutions and adding intrusion prevention functionality to its integrated firewall and virtual private network (VPN) solutions, bolstering network- and application-level attack protection. Additionally, NetScreen was recognized for its firewall product's technology, including superior performance and high availability capabilities. "We developed METAspectrum to enable IT professionals to quickly evaluate vendors based on their ability to deliver on the presence and performance criteria that matter most in a given market," said Mark Bouchard, senior research analyst for META Group. "Application-layer awareness/control and intrusion prevention are becoming the next big rallying cries for the enterprise firewall market." "We are pleased by our leadership ranking in the METAspectrum evaluation," said David Flynn, vice president of marketing at NetScreen. "NetScreen's position underscores our keen focus on delivering superior technology that provides our customers highly effective security functionality to protect their networks from a variety of application- and network-level threats and to address evolving business requirements." The new METAspectrum evaluation provides an objective assessment of companies providing firewall products, which among other uses typically act as the primary access control interface between the Internet and an organization's hosted and internal computing resources. More About METAspectrum METAspectrum(SM) evaluations from META Group provide IT professionals with a view into critical market success factors and vendor positioning. METAspectrum delivers comprehensive evaluations of both technology markets and vendor product offerings. There are multiple market evaluations planned for release in 2003 and beyond. METAspectrum evaluations are updated quarterly, biannually, or annually, depending on the characteristics of individual markets. To view completed market evaluations, or learn more about the METAspectrum methodology, visit http://www.metagroup.com/metaspectrum. METAspectrum(SM) market evaluations and results are the sole property of META Group, Inc. and are Copyright (C) 2003 META Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Permission to use the results requires prior written approval from META Group, and should not be deemed an endorsement of any company or product. About NetScreen Technologies NetScreen Technologies, Inc., is a leading developer of network security and access solutions for enterprises and carriers worldwide. NetScreen's solutions offer customers multiple layers of network and application-level protection in purpose-built appliances and systems that optimize performance and reduce total operating costs. NetScreen is located at 805 11th Ave., Sunnyvale, CA, 94089. More information on NetScreen's products can be found at http://www.netscreen.com/ or by calling toll free at 1-800-638-8296. NOTE: NetScreen and the NetScreen logo are trademarks of NetScreen Technologies, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. This press release contains forward-looking statements about events and circumstances that have not yet occurred. For example, words such as "will", "can", "allowing", "believes", "continue" and "continuing", or other statements in the future tense, are forward-looking statements. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from expectations in this press release due to a number of risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include whether the market for security products will grow as projected, if at all, whether demand for NetScreen products will continue, whether new products, if and when introduced, will be successful and whether products will perform as expected DATASOURCE: NetScreen Technologies, Inc. CONTACT: Jennifer Jennings, +1-408-543-8243, or , or Heather C. Lowles, +1-408-543-4136, or , both of NetScreen Technologies, Inc. Web site: http://www.netscreen.com/

Copyright