CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Mazu Networks, the leading provider of Network Behavior Analysis (NBA) systems, today announced that Gartner ranked its product's capabilities as "positive," stating: "Mazu Profiler should be on every pure play NBA shortlist," in the firm's MarketScope: Network Behavior Analysis, 2H 2006.(1) The report underscores the ability of Mazu Profiler and NBA systems to provide value for both network operations and internal security efforts. According to the report, "Network behavior analysis provides visibility into network activity to satisfy security and operational requirements." Within the Vendor Selection Guidance section, Gartner "recommends" Mazu Profiler for its network operations and internal security capabilities.

According to report's author, Paul Proctor, research vice president, Gartner, "Mazu Profiler is a fully featured NBA system with competitive features. In addition to good support for flow data and deep packet inspection, it supports application profiling tied to identity and integration with existing network-management-layer capabilities. We give Profiler a strong rating in deep packet inspection because of its ability to track applications. It also has good scalability for a range of enterprises - from small through large to very large. Profiler also integrates with vulnerability management functions from Nessus, Qualys, Rapid7 and nCircle."

"This Gartner report projects the highest growth rate for the NBA market since its inception," said Paul Brady, CEO, Mazu Networks. "We attribute much of this to an inflection point that is happening because customers are realizing value for NBA in both their network operations and internal security teams. This at least doubles the ROI that customers will enjoy from investing in NBA technology."

The MarketScope states that NBA systems are used by network operations teams for "performance measurement, capacity planning and the impact of various events on the operations of the network." The report indicates that customers often get substantial value from their NBA systems when used for supporting network operations.

The report also explains the benefits of NBA systems for combating internal security threats and explains that they "fill the gap left by policy- and signature-based point solutions, such as firewalls, intrusion detection system/intrusion prevention system (IDS/IPS) and security information and event management (SIEM)." These technologies, according to Gartner, "may miss threats for which they are not specifically configured to detect," whereas "NBA technologies are decision support systems that give visibility to a knowledgeable operator who can interpret, investigate and appropriately respond to a variety of suspicious activities on the network."

The MarketScope is copyrighted November 21, 2006, by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The MarketScope is an evaluation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendor's measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the MarketScope, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest rating. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Mazu Profiler

Mazu Profiler is a Network Behavior Analysis (NBA) system that provides global visibility into how users, applications, hosts and devices behave on a network. Users immediately understand who is talking to whom, what applications and services are running, where the traffic is flowing, and when. Mazu Profiler collects this information from across any or all parts of the network using a passive, agent-less deployment model and stores the information in a centralized repository. This holistic view improves planning, management and operations while also dramatically reducing the time to diagnose network or security issues. Mazu Profiler notifies users of abnormal network behavior or activities that violate policies by combining Mazu Networks' patented behavioral analysis with real-time data, historical details and self-maintaining profiles. Mazu Profiler improves internal security, optimizes network operations and increases application availability.

About Mazu Networks, Inc.

Mazu Networks, the leading provider of Network Behavior Analysis (NBA) systems, delivers real-time enterprise-wide visibility, context and control of critical business applications. Mazu Networks' products use existing network infrastructure, eliminating the need for agents or inline hardware. Mazu Networks' offerings include: Mazu Profiler(TM) - an internal security, application visibility and compliance solution, and Mazu Enforcer(TM) - a perimeter visibility and DDoS protection solution. Mazu Networks is backed by premier venture capital firms, including Greylock Partners, Matrix Partners, Pilot House Ventures Group and StarVest Partners. Symantec Corporation also is an investor in the company. Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Mazu Networks also has locations in New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit http://www.mazunetworks.com.

(1) Gartner "MarketScope: Network Behavior Analysis 2H 2006" by Paul E. Proctor. November 21, 2006