Nakina Systems Inc. (“Nakina”), a provider of multi-vendor security and element management solutions to network operators worldwide, today announced that Dave Vicary, president and CEO at Nakina, was recently named an Ontario finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2006 awards. Vicary is one of three finalists in the Information Technology category. Nominees in a total of 12 categories were chosen based on demonstrated leadership, drive and innovation.

“It is truly an honor to be recognized by Canada’s most prestigious business awards program,” said Vicary. “This acknowledgement clearly validates the progress Nakina Systems has made during its few short years of existence in delivering innovative telecom and data network management solutions to service providers worldwide.”

On October 19th, one finalist in each business category will receive a regional category award. One person chosen from among the 12 category winners will then be awarded Entrepreneur of the Year for Ontario. The Ontario award winner will compete against other top entrepreneurs from across Canada for the national award. The Canadian winner will then face off against more than 35 country recipients for the title of World Entrepreneur of the Year. The Ernst & Young achievement follows other recent Nakina accomplishments.

Nakina Systems recently broadened its portfolio with a new version of its Nakina Network OS(TM) platform, on which it is providing several solutions including one for IPTV infrastructure management. The Nakina Network OS(TM) platform features enhancements for device configuration and performance measurement that allow service providers to set up and commission network elements and gather data about their performance. The IPTV solution in particular manages a range of network devices across the core optical network and the next generation broadband FTTx/GPON edge technologies needed for service activation.

Earlier this year, Nakina was recognized by international market research firm Dittberner Associates as “one of the most innovative software developers in the OSS business today.” According to the Telecom Provisioning, Network Order & Service Management Systems report issued February 2006 by Dittberner, Nakina Systems “…addresses OSS problems that have festered for years.” The report says no vendor has had the skill set to tackle multi-vendor element management along with network password control and Layer 1 and 2 network discovery, and that Nakina should be “…one fun company to watch.”

Separately, Nakina was chosen last spring as a finalist in two categories of the prestigious 2006 Billing & OSS World Excellence Awards. Nakina was initially selected from among 50 companies nominated, with 95 applications submitted in total, and competed against four other finalists in the Operational Success and Customer Experience categories.

Vicary added, “We are proud of the accolades and industry recognition we’ve received over the last year. Recent tier-one customer wins and new additions to our product line support our continued growth, acknowledgment and upward momentum.”

About Nakina Systems
Nakina Systems provides network operators with one platform to discover, manage and secure their multi-vendor networks worldwide. Using Nakina’s software, service providers reduce their operating expenses and introduce new services far more rapidly into their networks. They bolster security and eliminate headaches caused by shared passwords on their networks by using centralized security and password administration. They eliminate the chaos of “swivel chair management” by consolidating the management of any hardware vendor’s networking equipment onto a single user interface, with common methods and procedures. They substantially improve productivity with the automation of everyday operations like software upgrades and equipment configuration. And it’s all with one system. Only from Nakina.