BT Selects Blue Coat to Accelerate Internet Performance and Reduce Bandwidth Consumption on NHS Broadband Network
N3, one of the largest virtual private networks in Europe, uses Blue Coat ProxySG appliances to accelerate internet content to more than a million users
SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 9, 2007 – Blue Coat Systems (Nasdaq: BCSI), a leader in secure content and application delivery, today announced that BT, one of the world’s leading communications solutions and service providers has selected Blue Coat® ProxySG™ appliances to accelerate Internet content to the broadband network that BT is rolling out for the National Health Service (NHS) in England. The network, known as N3, replaces the NHSnet. N3 forms part of what is believed to be the world’s largest civilian IT project, the National Programme for IT in the NHS. N3 links NHS sites throughout the country to shared health applications, and the Internet and is part of a major strategic initiative to deliver improved healthcare to patients at lower costs and with the highest standards of privacy.
Health professionals have experienced enhanced performance from the N3 service when accessing the Internet due to Blue Coat’s acceleration technology, which has lead to reduced response times, improved performance of applications and faster file access. N3 is simultaneously receiving bandwidth savings of around 30%, which has enabled a greater return on the investment in the network infrastructure.
“Blue Coat is pleased to serve such a central role in accelerating Internet content for N3 users and reducing overall bandwidth consumption,” said Craig Stewart, vice president for EMEA, Blue Coat Systems. “In the future, we anticipate individual health care provider offices and Primary Care Trust groups will install Blue Coat appliances to further speed applications and provide security for their patient data and systems.”
The N3 operations center routes Internet traffic to and from health care provider offices and Primary Care Trust groups through its Internet gateway. Blue Coat ProxySG appliances are deployed in-line at this primary gateway to speed content delivery and decrease bandwidth consumption. The N3 Internet gateway has a current capacity of 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps), but it is expected to scale to 2.5 Gbps as demand increases.
About Blue Coat Systems, Inc.
Blue Coat secures Web communications and accelerates business applications across the distributed enterprise. Blue Coat’s family of appliances and client-based solutions – deployed in branch offices, Internet gateways, end points, and data centers – provide intelligent points of policy-based control enabling IT organizations to optimize security and accelerate performance between users and applications. Blue Coat has installed more than 30,000 appliances worldwide and is ranked #1 by IDC in the Secure Content and Application Delivery market. Blue Coat is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and can be reached at (408) 220-2200 or www.bluecoat.com.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding Blue Coat Systems’ expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future, and including statements regarding the capabilities and expected performance of Blue Coat Systems’ products. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based upon information available to Blue Coat Systems as of the date hereof, and Blue Coat Systems assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These and other risks relating to Blue Coat Systems’ business are set forth in Blue Coat Systems’ most recently filed Form 10-Q for the quarter ended January 31, 2006 and Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2005, and other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
