CloudShield Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of advanced service control and infrastructure security solutions, has announced it is working with IBM to develop the first carrier-class deep packet inspection (DPI) solution for the IBM BladeCenter family. This collaboration will provide CloudShield's DPI solution to IBM's growing telecommunications BladeCenter customer base.

"This relationship is evidence of our core focus on providing multi-function service control and security to service providers around the world," said Matt Jones, president and CEO of CloudShield. "IBM has been very successful in penetrating the telecommunications carrier market with the BladeCenter. Our collaboration will help solve many problems faced by service providers today. Delivering our advanced DPI technology as a blade in the IBM BladeCenter family will allow customers to leverage advanced packet processing capabilities to ensure converged IP networks are managed, controlled, and secured effectively."

Together, IBM and CloudShield will address the pressures faced by telecommunications service providers today, the companies said. These range from developing appropriate revenue models for voice, video, and data networks, to traffic control on converged networks with multiple new services, such as VOIP and IPTV. As customers demand new services from carriers, it is essential that the infrastructure is in place to handle today's requirements and meet the needs of future services. The combined solution from CloudShield and IBM will help service providers deliver a cost effective model that scales as next generation services are added and as networks grow, according to CloudShield.

CloudShield is leveraging IBM's Blade Open Specification to implement its advanced DPI architecture on the BladeCenter platform. The open Blade Server Based Specifications enable companies to develop and build compatible blade products ranging from blade servers to switches. IBM is the only server vendor to open their blade specifications. In addition, CloudShield has joined the Blade.org ecosystem, a collaborative organization and developer community whose goals are to expand and provide leadership to the blade server market.

"Service providers need the agility and flexibility to rapidly deploy new services to meet their clients' requirements while protecting their valuable IP network infrastructure," said Jim Pertzborn, vice president, Telecommunications Industry for IBM Systems and Technology Group. "Delivering CloudShield's deep packet inspection capabilities on the IBM BladeCenter will greatly enhance our customer's ability to control and secure their IP network traffic."

"The CloudShield solution has carrier class architecture, functionality, performance and reliability that can allow it to be successfully deployed in the core networks of tier one service providers at wire speeds up to 10 Gbps," said Murray Cooke, British Telecom Group CTO. "This collaboration between CloudShield and IBM represents the convergence of communications and IT which will help service providers meet their customers' evolving requirements."

CloudShield solutions are currently installed in the core networks of some of the largest service providers in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, including two of the top five European service providers. Architecturally the platform strictly separates network traffic from provisioning and management, thereby enabling it to be "proven secure" by the world's toughest security organizations. CloudShield's solutions are designed to inspect, analyze, control and secure IP network services-including voice, video and data-at 10 gigabit rates from a single, flexible and scalable platform.

About CloudShield

CloudShield is a provider of multi-gigabit, multi-function, programmable, deep packet inspection platforms targeted at large network operators. The company's unique capabilities allow content inspection, service control and security applications to perform at true gigabit speeds on even small packet sizes, and enable entirely new classes of applications and revenue generating services. Through its application partners, CloudShield has helped deliver solutions to carriers in North America, Europe, and Asia as well as several important federal government customers. More information about CloudShield can be found at http://www.cloudshield.com/.

About IBM BladeCenter

IBM has the broadest portfolio of blade offerings in the industry, including:

• BladeCenter S for small firms and branch office, retail environments;

• BladeCenter E and BladeCenter H for enterprise data center deployments; and

• BladeCenter T and BladeCenter HT for robust, telecom central office deployments with NEBS3/ETSI requirements.

Using a common architecture across the BladeCenter family allows clients to mix and match offerings to suit their specific needs, from enterprise to carrier deployments. For more information about IBM BladeCenter, please visit: ibm.com/bladecenter.

For more information on next-generation network solutions and products from IBM, visit: http://www.ibm.com/telecom/systems.

About Blade Open Specification

The open Blade Server Based Specifications are intended to enable companies to develop and build compatible blades, networking and storage switches, and blade adapter cards (daughter cards). Hardware developers can now more easily develop and build compatible blade products in these categories and participate in the rapidly growing blades market served by the IBM BladeCenter and Intel Enterprise Blade Server platforms.

Interested in BladeCenter specifications? Download ibm.com/systems/bladecenter/signin.html.

Once there, you will be guided through a registration process, license agreement, and be given access to the Blade Server Based Specifications. In addition to acquiring the specifications, upon receipt of your faxed in "General Blade Technology License Agreement" and registration confirmation, you will also be granted access to the Blade Open Specification Support Center (BOSSC) Connect Workspace. In the Connect Workspace you will find access to free technical support for specification clarification, additional understanding of the specifications, and information on IBM's Blade Center of Competency, capable of providing multiple for-fee based support features for both blade hardware and software development.

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