Today's Network Manager = ''Accidental Marketeer''? Attendees of NETSCOUT System's Annual User Forum Say Yes

19 Oct 2007

Increasingly Called upon to Convey Complex Network Performance Details to Non-Technologists, Many Network Managers Wrestle with the New Role

WESTFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 19, 2007--Network managers may be more accustomed to writing scripts than creating PowerPoints. However, times are changing and technical types are increasingly finding themselves cast in the unlikely role of marketeer. That was one of many conclusions reached during the week long NetScout User Forum (NUF) conference which came to a close in Miami, Florida last Friday.

Hosted by NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTCT), the industry pacesetter for advanced network and service assurance solutions, the sixth annual NUF brought together a record number of NetScout nGenius System power users as well as brand new customers and strategic partners for a week of training, best practices, product road map discussions, networking and opportunities to collaborate with NetScout engineers and executives. Attendance at the annual event swelled by 20 percent and the number of attendees with director-level titles surged, illustrating network management's increasing business relevance.

There was general agreement that the new marketing aspects of the network management job are not only due to the ever-increasing need to convey technical information to non-technical managers, but also due to the need to collaborate across functional teams effectively. One NUF attendee, for instance, noted that something as simple as word selection can mean the difference between a slammed door and a productive discussion that can impact the business' bottom line. "If I tell my applications team I have a list of the worst performing applications, it will put them on the defensive immediately," said the attendee. "If I instead tell them I have evidence that will give us an opportunity to improve the performance of several key applications, we can be united in a common goal."

Gary Abbott of InterContinental Hotels, a veteran NUF attendee, noted that marketing skills do not necessarily come naturally to many network managers and engineers. "But this is something we have to improve upon," said Abbott. Solutions like NetScout's nGenius System can help, he said, "but we also have to help ourselves; we have to understand how important this is and work hard at it."

In a keynote session, industry luminary Jim Metzler took it one step further, saying network professionals would be ill-advised to shirk the new responsibility, as it will become increasingly important as network management gets more proactive. "The network team is used to being fire fighters," said Metzler. "Lots of people witnessed the flames and felt the heat, and the network manager was a hero when the flames were extinguished. But what will happen when we successfully avert those fires before the smoke turns into actual flames-- how are we going to continue to convey the value of performance management?"

"This is one more example of how network and application performance management is evolving from a tactical activity to strategic necessity," said Jim Frey, NetScout's vice president of marketing. "One of the manifestations of this evolution is the need for better communications, both in terms of collaborating across functional teams as well as making management aware of business impact. As NUF attendees pointed out time and again, NetScout is among the most customer-centric vendors, and is focused on helping network teams meet these challenges."

Throughout the event, attendees expressed keen interest in the recent news that NetScout intends to acquire Network General Corporation. In an onsite survey, 90 percent of attendees reported they currently use Network General products-- illustrating the complementary aspect of the NetScout-Network General combination. NUF attendees used the opportunity to ask the many onsite NetScout executives how the combination will impact their organizations.

About NetScout Systems

NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTCT) has been the industry pacesetter for advanced network and service assurance solutions for over a decade, and counts the world's largest enterprises, government agencies, and service providers among its customers. Enterprise and government IT organizations deploy NetScout's nGenius(R) Performance Management System to increase service levels to their users by reducing or preventing service disruptions. Service providers depend on NetScout's proven IP performance management technology and expertise to protect the quality of their customers' experience with IP-based services. NetScout is headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts and has offices worldwide. Further information is available at http://www.netscout.com.

NetScout and the NetScout logo, nGenius, and Quantiva are registered trademarks of NetScout Systems, Inc. The CDM logo, MasterCare, Progressive Analytics and the MasterCare logo, are trademarks of NetScout Systems, Inc. Other brands, product names and trademarks are property of their respective owners. NetScout reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to make changes at any time in its technical information and specifications, and service and support programs.

CONTACT: NetScout Systems, Inc.
Christine Johansen, 978-614-4113
johansenc@netscout.com
or
Davies Murphy Group, Inc.
Brian Alberti, 781-418-2403
netscout@daviesmurphy.com

SOURCE: NetScout Systems