IDC RANKS MCDATA AS LEADER IN FIBRE CHANNEL SWITCHING MARKET.

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BROOMFIELD, Colo., May 31 PRNewswire-AsiaNet - McDATA(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: MCDTA, MCDT), a global leader in open storage networking solutions, today announced its continued dominance in the Director class product market in 2000, according to a report by market research firm IDC.

In its 2001 Worldwide Fibre Channel Hub and Switch Market Forecast and Analysis, 1998-2004, IDC reported that McDATA maintained the largest portion of the fastest-growing storage area networking segment, with more than 94 percent of the fibre channel Director class switch unit shipments in 2000.

The report also found that McDATA owns 91 percent of Director class port shipments, increasing its Director class switch factory revenue in 2000 by 224 percent over previous years' sales.

"As storage needs continue to grow at a very fast pace, we anticipate large sales growth in Director class products over the next three years," said Eric Sheppard, research analyst for IDC.

"McDATA's long-standing investment in sales and development of Directors over the last 10 years helped the company meet those growing storage connectivity needs, and has resulted in the top ranking within the Fibre Channel Director class space."

According to IDC's research, Director class switches are expected to be the fastest growing portion of the Fibre Channel hub and switch market. IDC estimates that Director class products will account for more revenue than any other segment of the market by 2004.