Press Releases
Juniper Networks Earns 'Rising Star' Award from Information Technology Distribution Industry
Honor Recognizes Technology Industry's Fastest-Growing Hardware Manufacturers and Software Publishers
SAN FRANCISCO/GTDC SUMMIT, Sept. 20, 2006 - Juniper Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: JNPR) today announced it received the Global Technology Distribution Council's (GTDC) inaugural Rising Star Award for outstanding distribution sales growth by a hardware manufacturer in North America. The award was presented to Juniper Network's Vice President of Sales and Worldwide Channels Frank Vitagliano during the GTDC's annual summit event held this year at San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel, Sept. 19-20.
The GTDC, with member distributors representing more than $80 billion in annual sales, developed the Rising Star Awards to recognize the impressive growth and success companies such as Juniper Networks have gained by working with information technology (IT) distributors to effectively market, sell and support their products, services and solutions.
"By teaming with today's leading IT distributors, Juniper Networks achieved more than 200 percent growth in annual North America sales through distribution from June 2005 to May 2006," said Tim Curran, president, the GTDC. "This incredible sales performance attests to the growing demand for Juniper Networks' products and solidifies the pivotal role distributors play in reaching and supporting diverse end-user markets such as small and mid-size businesses and enterprises."
Reflecting on the theme of this year's conference GTDC Summit 2006: The New Wave of Growth in Distribution, Curran says, "The value proposition of IT distributors has never been more pronounced, especially when you take a close look at the renewed industry emphasis on reseller channel services, supply chain efficiency and cost management."
Ingram Micro's President of North America Keith Bradley concurs with Curran, adding that channel-friendly, dedicated manufacturers like Juniper Networks will continue to see a high return on their investment in IT distribution.
"Juniper Networks' annual sales growth clearly demonstrates the business advantage a strong distribution partner delivers," says Bradley. "We want to congratulate Juniper Networks on its Rising Star award and thank them for partnering with Ingram Micro to execute against their vision and strategy of building a 'deliberate dependence' on their channel partners."
"Receiving this award from the GTDC is an honor that clearly highlights the sales momentum we've gained within the channel and raises the visibility of Juniper Networks overall," concludes Vitagliano. "Our team is focused on achieving mutual profitable growth and success with Juniper Networks' channel partners. We take great pride in receiving the GTDC's Rising Star award and will continue to invest in the power of distribution, working hard to innovate and deliver the greatest possible business value and support to our solution provider partners."
Tracking the Results: NPD Service Reports IT Distributor Sales by Product Category
Sales results for Rising Star award winners are based on actual revenue growth over the past year, as reported by a leading consumer and retail information company, The NPD Group, in its Distributor Track® service. Available by subscription, the Distributor Track aggregates distributor sell-through data to enable sharp insight into channel sales and pricing trends with the ability to drill down into product subcategories, including detailed attributes based on specific areas of interest.
To be eligible for a Rising Star award, vendors are required to have sold corresponding products through IT distributors for a minimum of one year with at least 20 percent year-over-year sales growth for hardware manufacturers and 15 percent year-over-year sales growth for software publishers. The hardware category includes separate awards for vendors with $20 million to $100 million in annual sales and those with more than $100 million in sales.
About The Global Technology Distribution Council
The Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC) is a worldwide industry association dedicated to defining and promoting the role of wholesale distribution in a successful and healthy information technology channel. The Council is comprised of the computer industry's top wholesale distributors dedicated to serving "the channel," a network of skilled value-added resellers and retail stores focused on providing hardware, software, and services to businesses and consumers around the globe.
About Juniper Networks
Juniper Networks is the leader in enabling secure and assured communications over a single IP network. The company's purpose-built, high performance IP platforms enable customers to support many different services and applications at scale. Service providers, enterprises, governments and research and education institutions worldwide rely on Juniper Networks to deliver products for building networks that are tailored to the specific needs of their users, services and applications. Juniper Networks' portfolio of proven networking and security solutions supports the complex scale, security and performance requirements of the world's most demanding networks. Additional information can be found at www.juniper.net.
Juniper Networks and the Juniper Networks logo are registered trademarks of Juniper Networks, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, or registered service marks are the property of their respective owners.
