SEATTLE, July 18 /PRNewswire/ --

- WatchGuard Worldwide UTM Shipment Growth Leads Entire Industry with Record Setting Pace of 190 Percent for 2007; Leads with 196 Percent UTM Shipment Growth for Western Europe

WatchGuard(R) Technologies, a global leader in extensible network security and connectivity solutions, today announced that it has been confirmed as the worldwide leader of unified threat management (UTM) shipment growth for 2007, leading the industry with a whopping 190.2 percent rate of growth. Additionally, the company was crowned as the leading UTM shipment growth leader for Western Europe, where WatchGuard led the region with 196.4 percent growth.

"WatchGuard's investments in R&D, engineering and customer services have paid off, resulting in multiple product introductions, security innovations and network management breakthroughs," said Eric Aarrestad, vice president, marketing at WatchGuard Technologies. "As evidenced by our industry leading growth, WatchGuard excelled in its ability to execute and deliver formidable products, superior channel programs, as well as execute in new geographies and vertical industries, such as retail, healthcare and education."

According to the IDC Vendor Profile, "WatchGuard: Changing of the Guard" (July, 2008), WatchGuard is the number one, worldwide industry leader for UTM shipment growth in 2007. The company blew past other leading UTM vendors, recording an extraordinary 190.2 percent growth rate. In Western Europe, WatchGuard did even better. There it achieved 196.4 percent growth, far outpacing all other vendors. For more information, the IDC Vendor Profile, "WatchGuard: Changing of the Guard" is available for free at http://www.watchguard.com.

WatchGuard Security Appliances -- Dominant Choice for High Reliability and Price/Performance

For over a decade, WatchGuard has provided reliable, easy-to-manage firewall and VPN appliances to hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide. Today, WatchGuard's Firebox(R) X family of integrated security solutions leads the industry with comprehensive, multi-layered network security that protects against the latest forms of viruses, worms, spyware, malware, e-mail spam, bots, denial of service attacks, and much more. By utilizing a multi-layered approach and WatchGuard's unique application proxy technology, WatchGuard solutions defend commercial networks at all layers, including application layers to provide high security for today's Web-based business applications.

Aarrestad concludes, "Ultimately, having satisfied customers is what propelled WatchGuard to be the number one UTM growth leader. By giving customers extensive security protection, greater choices, in-depth management and control, along with flexible ownership options, WatchGuard customers benefit with an unequalled integrated security solution that grows in tandem with their business."

About WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.

Since 1996, WatchGuard(R) Technologies, Inc. has been the advanced technology leader of network security solutions, providing mission-critical security to hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide. The WatchGuard family of wired and wireless unified threat management appliances and WatchGuard SSL VPN remote access solutions provide extensible network security, unparalleled network visibility, management and control. WatchGuard products are backed by WatchGuard LiveSecurity(R) Service, an innovative support, maintenance, and education program. WatchGuard is headquartered in Seattle and has offices serving North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. To learn more, visit http://www.watchguard.com/.

WatchGuard, Firebox, and LiveSecurity are registered trademarks of WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. All other marks are property of their respective owners.

Contacts: Chris McKie Jimme Peters WatchGuard Technologies 24/7 Consulting +1-206-613-3760 +1-503-289-5354 chris.mckie@watchguard.com jimme@24-7consulting.com

Web site: http://www.watchguard.com

Chris McKie of WatchGuard Technologies, Inc., +1-206-613-3760, chris.mckie@watchguard.com; or Jimme Peters of 24/7 Consulting, +1-503-289-5354, jimme@24-7consulting.com, for WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.