LONDON -- WatchGuard(r) Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of network security solutions, today announced its new generation of Firebox(r) X Core(tm) and Peak(tm) security appliances for mid-sized businesses with the major release of Fireware(r) 9.0.

The new Fireware 9.0 software dramatically increases the functionality and performance of the Firebox X Core and Peak security appliances to give network administrators a new level of granular control and stability. This release also introduces new advanced integrated networking features including VPN failover, support for IKE 3rd party certificates, drag-and-drop VPN tunnel creation, policy-based routing, VLAN, QoS, multi-WAN failover, load balancing, and high availability with firewall rules. Both appliances offer complete UTM (unified threat management) solutions including anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam, intrusion prevention and URL filtering.

Robert Ward, product marketing manager for Firebox X Core and Peak said, "With Fireware 9.0, WatchGuard has delivered a quality appliance that matches or exceeds competitive offerings. Shipping our Edge appliance with a UTM suite in December restored the company's leading position in security appliances for small businesses. With Fireware 9.0, we now believe WatchGuard can now resume a position of competitive leadership for security appliances for the medium-sized enterprises."

Firebox X Core appliances are ideal for small and mid-sized enterprises with 50 to 750 users and are capable of 300+ Mbps of firewall throughput. Firebox X Peak appliances can support 500 to 2000 users with 2.0 Gbps of firewall throughput. Most Firebox X Core and Peak appliances can easily be upgraded to higher models in the product line by the simple application of a license key. This allows organisations to adapt and expand to meet the evolving needs. Every Core and Peak e-Series appliance is environmentally friendly, meeting European RoHS requirements.

Along with the new Fireware 9.0 announcement, WatchGuard is announcing a new channel partner program, which includes a co-op initiative to help fund marketing programs, free marketing consultations for partners to help plan and execute effective marketing programs, and the delivery of monthly turn-key marketing campaigns. These campaigns will include a variety of customisable direct mail, electronic direct mail, ad artwork and copy, sample landing pages, sales presentations, scripts for telemarketing, and tips on maximizing effectiveness. The campaigns are also easily customisable to allow for co-branding and style preferences and are translated into seven languages: German, Spanish, French, Italian, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

"Rather than focus our time on planning a market development fund, we are focusing our time on working with our partners to fund marketing plans that will achieve our mutual goals for driving revenue from WatchGuard products," said Kathleen Brush, Ph.D., vice president of marketing for WatchGuard. "Our partners are enthusiastic about the provision of co-op, free marketing expertise, and the ready availability of customisable co-branded marketing materials," continued Brush.

WatchGuard was privatised in October of 2006, when the company was purchased by the leading private equity firms Francisco Partners and Vector Capital, who combined, have $5.5 billion under management.

The company has been undergoing numerous changes to restore growth and profitability to the firm. This latest major new release of Fireware and a new partner program and are the latest of these significant improvements.

WatchGuard Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: WGRD)