Brocade: We're No Cisco

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- Storage networking specialist Brocade(BRCD Quote) has vowed not to follow in the footsteps of rival Cisco(CSCO Quote) by sticking to its core business.

"One of the things we're not going to do is focus outside of our networking business," said Brocade CEO Mike Klayko during the company's analyst day Tuesday. "We're a networking company; we're a very, very good networking company."

Although he did not name Cisco, Klayko's comments were a thinly veiled dig at the networking behemoth, which recently threw the tech ecosystem into turmoil when it entered the server space. The launch of the controversial Unified Computing System device was a direct challenge to long-standing Cisco partners IBM(IBM Quote) and Hewlett-Packard(HPQ Quote).

Brocade, which competes with Emulex(ELX Quote) and QLogic(QLGC Quote), is also unlikely to extend its focus into the consumer space in an attempt to open up new revenue streams.

"It's not where our strength is," said Klayko. "We're in the largest data centers in the world."

Instead, Klayko promised to exploit the company's partner ecosystem. The switch maker recently expanded its reseller deals with Dell(DELL Quote) and IBM(IBM Quote), and is rumored to be forging a partnership with H-P to resell its Ethernet products.

"We do believe that partnerships are exactly that -- they are long-term in nature," said the executive. "As long as we continue to keep that principle at the forefront, we continue to grow our partnerships."

Brocade unveiled a new set of partner programs Tuesday that are designed to attract additional storage and IP networking resellers. The company also announced new blades for its DCX device, which aim to connect two or more data centers and consolidate servers.