Blue Coat moves up in ranking

A new report from Gartner ranks Blue Coat second in worldwide market share for WAN optimisation controllers during the first calendar quarter of 2008. Previously, in Gartner's report for the fourth calendar quarter of 2007, Blue Coat had ranked third in market share. According to the Gartner report, "Market Share: Application Acceleration Equipment, Worldwide, 1Q08," Blue Coat grew its revenue while two other prominent vendors decreased in revenue.

In the same report, Packeteer, Inc., which was acquired by Blue Coat in the second calendar quarter of 2008, achieved the strongest percentage growth of any vendor reported. Packeteer ranked as fourth in market share. Going forward, Packeteer revenue will be included with Blue Coat revenue.

"Our approach to WAN optimization with integrated security and control clearly resonates with enterprises and large organizations," said Bethany Mayer, senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, Blue Coat Systems. "WAN optimization is no longer about simply accelerating files. Enterprises and organizations need visibility of WAN traffic to and from the branch office, combined with the ability to stop dangerous or unauthorized applications, accelerate business-critical applications, even those using SSL encryption, and manage everything in between."