Pure Storage Channel Executive Michelle Graff Named to CRN’s 2013 Power 100 and Women of the Channel Lists

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Mountain View, CA – June 27, 2013 — Pure Storage, the all-flash enterprise storage company, announced today that Michelle Graff, who oversees the company’s Pure Storage Partner Program (P3) and global channel marketing efforts, has been recognized by UBM Tech Channel’s CRN as a Top Women of the Channel and one of this year’s Power 100. Graff joined Pure Storage in 2012 and has since revamped and expanded the company’s partner program, P3, into a multi-tiered, value-add program designed to accelerate channel partner profitability and demand generation, while offering expanded business, service and support opportunities. Pure Storage partners can now earn exceptional benefits and rewards as they achieve sales and technical accreditations, participate in demand generation marketing programs and deliver pre and post sales value added services.

"It’s a significant honor to receive this recognition from CRN. I congratulate my fellow honorees, who represent some the finest women in our field," said Graff, Director of Worldwide Channel Marketing and Partner Programs. "It has been a year of massive growth and success for Pure Storage, due in no small part to the support and many contributions of our partners. We look forward to continuing to strengthen those relationships as we work closely together to bring the simplicity and performance of the FlashArray to joint customers worldwide, and remain committed to delivering a truly exceptional experience that translates into increased revenue and value for our partners for years to come."

Under Graff’s leadership, market response to the P3 channel program has been increasingly positive: Pure Storage has more than tripled its solution partners in North America and partner-sourced business has grown by 125% quarter-over-quarter. The company has also rapidly established and scaled its channel network internationally, forging strategic reseller partnerships and distribution agreements across EMEA and APAC.

"We congratulate Michelle on her achievement and are immensely proud of this recognition from CRN and for her many accomplishments in expanding our partner program, which further underscores our commitment to building a robust global network of thriving channel partnerships," said David Hatfield, president at Pure Storage. "Under her leadership, our P3 program has grown in leaps and bounds and is delivering a world class experience for both our partners and our mutual customers."

Each year, the CRN Women of the Channel list recognizes women executives across technology channel organisations, distributors and solution providers for their successes over the preceding year and highlights the impact their accomplishments have had on their companies and the industry as a whole. The CRN Power 100 extends that honor, recognizing an elite group of women who have reached the highest levels of success in the IT channel industry, based on their achievements as executives and the influence they wield in the field.

"We are pleased to shine a spotlight on the most influential and powerful women working in the channel today," said Robert Faletra, CEO, UBM Tech Channel. "Offering this distinction further extends our ongoing commitment to the women of the channel by highlighting their accomplishments, sharing best practices and connecting powerful women in a forum designed to educate, inspire and advance the channel community."

A special feature devoted to the 2013 CRN Women of the Channel and Power 100 will run in the June issue of CRN magazine, with expanded coverage featured online at www.crn.com.

About Pure Storage

Pure Storage, the all-flash enterprise storage company, enables the broad deployment of flash in the data center. When compared to traditional disk-centric arrays, Pure Storage all-flash enterprise arrays are 10x faster and 10x more space and power efficient at a price point that is less than performance disk per gigabyte stored. The Pure Storage FlashArray is ideal for high performance workloads, including server virtualisation, desktop virtualisation (VDI), database (OLTP, real-time analytics) and cloud computing. For more information, visit www.purestorage.com.

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Watch our video: You Know You Want Flash, Right?

About UBM Tech Channel

UBM Tech Channel, a UBM company is the premier provider of IT channel-focused events, media, research, consulting, and sales and marketing services. With more than 30 years of experience and engagement, UBM Tech Channel has the unmatched channel expertise to execute integrated solutions for technology executives, managing partner recruitment, enablement and go-to-market strategy in order to accelerate technology sales. To learn more about UBM Tech Channel, visit us at https://www.ubmchannel.com. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/UBMTechChannel

UBM plc

UBM plc is a leading global business media company. We inform markets and bring the world’s buyers and sellers together at events, online, in print and provide them with the information they need to do business successfully. We focus on serving professional commercial communities, from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewellery traders, from farmers to pharmacists around the world. Our 6,000 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into specialist teams that serve these communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.

The Pure Storage and “P” logo marks, Purity Operating Environment, and RAID-3D are trademarks of Pure Storage, Inc. All other trademarks or names referenced in this document are the property of their respective owners.

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North America

Hope Nicora
Bhava Communications
purestorage@bhavacom.com
510-984-1527

Europe

Natasha Hill 
Rocket Communications for Pure Storage
purestorage@rocketcomms.net
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