Amidst Rapid Growth, SMC Networks Clarifies Business Segments, Market Focuses by Spinning off SMB/Enterprise Sales Division to Become Edgecore Networks, Inc.

Amidst Rapid Growth, SMC Networks Clarifies Business Segments, Market Focuses
by Spinning off SMB/Enterprise Sales Division to Become Edgecore Networks,
Inc.
The Spinoff of the Business Solution Group of SMC Networks and Rebranding of
the Solutions for the SMB and Enterprise Markets Addresses the Growing Issue
of Brand Confusion Caused by the Growth and Success of SMC in Both the SOHO
Networking and SMB/e Networking Solutions Businesses

IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- SMC Networks, a leading provider of
advanced, high performance networking solutions for the SMB, Enterprise and
service provider markets, today announced that it is spinning off its
highly-successful Business Solution Group (BSG) which focuses on delivering
high quality solutions to the SMB and enterprise markets. The new company,
Edgecore Networks, Inc., will continue to focus on the SMB/E markets under the
new brand name, but will still be a subsidiary of Accton Technology. The spin
off and name change, which is the first in the company's 33-year history, will
be officially launched at Interop 2009 and reflects a desire of the company to
rebuild its brand legacy in the reseller channel while providing a strategy
designed to deliver a clearer message to the channel regarding the company's
business segments and market focuses.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091102/LA02684LOGO)

SMC Networks, which has achieved worldwide growth of 40 percent year-over-year
and has recorded 10 percent growth in 2009 despite a very difficult economical
climate, reached this decision as the company dealt with issues of brand
confusion created by the company's successful Service Provider Group, which
provides networking solutions to consumers via service providers, and the
Business Solution Group, which delivers high-performance switching solutions
to companies in the growing SMB/e, Hospitality, and HPC markets.

"A valuable lesson that we learned seven years ago, when our brand was growing
in various markets, was not to confuse our customers and partners," explained
Keith Alexis, VP of Sales for SMC (BSG) and General Manager of the new
Edgecore Networks. "This decision was completely driven with the needs of our
channel, our technology partners and installed corporate user base in mind
where focus dictates simplicity in our brand strategy."

Though new to North America, SMC's Edgecore brand was launched four years ago
in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), Africa and parts of
Asia to enable the company to understand the developing markets and test their
ability to sell and support higher-end networking solutions including Metro
Ethernet, Wi-Max, Performance Switching and Edge Switching. While Edgecore
Networks will not ship Wi-Max into the US market, they will launch a new
enterprise wireless solution in Q2 2010. To ensure customer satisfaction, the
company has made substantial investments including the purchase of a new
software house dedicated to ensuring that the software platforms incorporated
into Edgecore's solutions are both capable and innovative. In addition, a
Network Management Software company was purchased which provides Edgecore with
a full suite of management tools that offers channel partners more
installation options and decreased costs, while creating greater opportunities
for add-on sales, services and increased margins.

"The decision to spin off the BSG from SMC Networks and continue our channel
presence as Edgecore Networks was not taken lightly given the strong brand
recognition and reputation that we have established over the past 33 years,"
stated Alexis. According to Alexis, as the market evolved and SMC continued
its aggressive level of growth, the company found itself being asked by its
channel partners to clarify their branding positions. "One day we're part of
the fastest supercomputer in the world and the next we're releasing a new
consumer router. This made it difficult for partners to position us, but more
importantly for the SMB and large corporate end users to understand us." The
results of a recent survey of resellers by CRN found that SMC was ranked as
one of the top 10 'Most Strategic Networking Vendors' putting them ahead of
some very popular brands. Alexis believes that the name change will create
more focus to enable Edgecore to improve its rankings in years to come.

"By bringing the now-proven name and product portfolio of Edgecore to North
America and combining it with SMC Networks' BSG Division and its existing line
of business-class networking solutions, we're able to effectively create a
marketing and brand strategy designed to enable even more accelerated growth
for both business groups and their partners, provide a broader line of
value-packed high-performance network infrastructure and management solutions
to our SMB/e and vertical segments, and provide a channel program that
delivers a powerful combination of products, services and support that will
enable our reseller partners to be even more profitable," stated Alexis.
Edgecore will also continue a dual-brand strategy with SMC for the next 3
years to allow customers time to get use to its new product lines.

Alexis explained that growth of over 40 percent last year combined with the
aggressive expansion of 2009 should make 2010 a banner year for Edgecore.
"We're going back to the basics. We've already made commitments to our
distribution partners, reengaged with channel events like XChange, Interop and
others, and will launch our new reseller program in Q4 2009. SMC won the ARC
Reseller Award in 1998 primarily for being the best and easiest partner to
deal with. We weren't the biggest then and we're still not today, but the
legacy continues to stay true and resonates with our partners, both then and
now."

About Edgecore Networks, Inc.

Edgecore Networks, Inc., formerly Business Solution Group of SMC Networks,
Inc., is a global manufacturer of application-driven performance networking
solutions designed to meet and exceed partner requirements and maximize return
on investment. Our market focuses include providing solutions for SMB &
enterprise LAN networks, hospitality and other MxU environments, and Metro
Ethernet technology for value conscious service providers.

Edgecore Networks features a robust portfolio of networking solutions that
includes managed SMB/E switches, Metro Access solutions and a variety of
business-class WiFi solutions, all tied together through an advanced network
management system. Leveraging SMC Networks' 33-year legacy of channel
loyalty, advanced technology, and dedicated partner support, Edgecore Networks
provides its channel partners with a reseller program that is backed by a full
complement of end-to-end networking solutions and is designed to maximize
return-on-investment and increase profitability. For more information, visit
Edgecore Networks at: http://www.edgecorenetworks.com.

© 2009 Edgecore Networks, Inc. Edgecore Networks and the Edgecore Networks
logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Edgecore Networks in the
United States and/or other countries. Other brand and product names are
trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Information
is subject to change without notice. All rights reserved.

SOURCE SMC Networks

Ken Hagihara of Integrity Public Relations, +1-949-768-4423, ext. 801,
ken@integritypr.net