SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwired - Jun 1, 2015) - Blue Coat Systems, Inc., a market leader in enterprise security, today announced Jana Whitcomb, Blue Coat's vice president North America channel and service providers, and Traci Burch, director, distribution sales, North America, have been named to The Channel Company's prestigious 2015 CRN® Women of the Channel. The annual list honors outstanding female executives across vendor channel organizations, distributors, solution providers and other women prominently involved in the IT channel ecosystem for their successes and the far-reaching impact they are having on the technology industry going forward.

This year's Women of the Channel were carefully reviewed and selected by the editors of CRN based on their accomplishments and the influence they wield over the technology channel.

Over the past year Whitcomb has spearheaded a number of key channel programs, working closely with service providers to build out cloud security solutions they sell as managed security services into the marketplace. Whitcomb and her team have also worked with the Blue Coat sales and marketing teams to build new enablement tools for partners. As part of these efforts, the team has rolled out new sales and technical certification classes and hands-on technical enablement courses.

In the last 12 months, Burch has used her extensive direct and channel sales experience to develop and implement sales programs that strategically leverage Blue Coat's distribution channel. As a result, Blue Coat distributors now work with the company's channel partners to provide effective training, empowering distribution to add value well beyond fulfillment.

"These executives have made a lasting mark on the industry, expanding the breadth of influence in the technology channel," said Robert Faletra, CEO, The Channel Company. "We congratulate the Women of the Channel, and celebrate their innovative contributions and commitment to the IT channel community."

"By building on our industry leading portfolio of security products that combat today's advanced threats with solutions that have become the de facto standard for much of the Fortune Global 500, we're providing our partners with the solutions their customers need," said Marc Andrews, senior vice president of worldwide field operations at Blue Coat. "Both Jana and Traci are focused on further strengthening our channel program by working with partners to design the programs that help make them successful. Their commitment to developing programs that help channel partners win is an integral part of how Blue Coat is able to grow and expand our channel program."

The Women of the Channel will be featured in the June issue of CRN, and online at www.CRN.com.

About Blue Coat Systems
 Blue Coat is a leader in enterprise security, providing on-premise, hybrid and cloud-based solutions for protecting web connectivity, combating advanced threats and responding to security breaches. Blue Coat is the global market leader in securing connection to the web and counts nearly 80 percent of the Global Fortune 500 as its customers. For additional information, please visit www.bluecoat.com.

About The Channel Company
The Channel Company, with established brands including CRN®, XChange® Events, IPED® and SharedVue®, is the channel community's trusted authority for growth and innovation. For more than three decades, we have leveraged our proven and leading-edge platforms to deliver prescriptive sales and marketing solutions for the technology channel. The Channel Company provides Communication, Recruitment, Engagement, Enablement, Demand Generation and Intelligence services to drive technology partnerships. Learn more at www.thechannelcompany.com.

Blue Coat and the Blue Coat logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Blue Coat Systems, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.