AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwired - Apr 22, 2014) - SolarWinds® (NYSE: SWI), a leading provider of powerful and affordable IT management software, today announced its upcoming participation at the Ethernet Technology Summit, the only conference focused solely on the Ethernet market, in San Francisco on April 29 - May 2, 2014. At the event, SolarWinds will accept the 2014 Innovation Leader award for Ethernet Network Monitoring from IT Brand Pulse and Head Geek Patrick Hubbard will present, "Claim Your Seat with Root at the New SDN Table," during the Ethernet and Software-Defined Networking Forum.

For the second year in a row, SolarWinds will be recognized as the Innovation Leader for Ethernet Network Monitoring in the IT Brand Pulse Awards. IT Professionals voted for SolarWinds as the leader in market, price, performance, reliability, service and support, and innovation, sweeping all six Ethernet Network Monitoring categories. Hubbard will accept the award on SolarWinds' behalf at the IT Brand Pulse ceremony on Wednesday, April 30.

Also at the Summit, Hubbard will participate as a speaker in the Ethernet and Software-Defined Networking Forum, part of the Emerging Technologies Track.

In his session, "Claim Your Seat with Root at the New SDN Table," on Thursday, May 1 at 8:30 a.m. PDT, Hubbard will address early SDN, how SDN has evolved and what this means for IT Pros and their careers as. Specifically, his discussion will highlight:

  • The original promise behind the hype of SDN
  • Network automation and how it will affect network administrators' careers
  • How IT Pros can enhance their skillset to stay ahead of the changes that come with SDN

"The Ethernet Technology Summit provides an ideal place to engage with a unique group of IT Pros that are focused on Ethernet technology and have a conversation about the ever-changing world of SDN," said Patrick Hubbard, Head Geek, SolarWinds. "I'm honored to speak at the event and to represent SolarWinds as the company is recognized as the IT Brand Pulse Innovation Leader in Ethernet Network Monitoring for the second year in a row."

Hubbard boasts over 20 years' technical expertise and network management experience in areas including campus, datacenter, HA/DR networks, storage networks, VoIP/telepresence and VDI Fortune 500 and start-ups. He contributes regularly to TechTarget's SearchSDN and SearchNetworking. Hubbard believes that technology is an art form and that as Head Geek, he has the opportunity to make art practical, improving the "IT grind" and making IT Pros' lives easier.

Follow Hubbard and the SolarWinds Head Geeks on Twitter @HeadGeeks.

About SolarWinds
SolarWinds (NYSE: SWI) provides powerful and affordable IT management software to customers worldwide from Fortune 500 enterprises to small businesses. In all of our market areas, our approach is consistent. We focus exclusively on IT Pros and strive to eliminate the complexity that they have been forced to accept from traditional enterprise software vendors. SolarWinds delivers on this commitment with unexpected simplicity through products that are easy to find, buy, use and maintain while providing the power to address any IT management problem on any scale. Our solutions are rooted in our deep connection to our user base, which interacts in our online community, thwack®, to solve problems, share technology and best practices, and directly participate in our product development process. Learn more today at http://www.solarwinds.com/.

SolarWinds, SolarWinds.com and thwack are registered trademarks of SolarWinds. All other company and product names mentioned are used only for identification purposes and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.