PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- TAZZ Networks, Inc., the leading provider of policy control infrastructure solutions for broadband and IP network service providers, today announced that it has attracted a new CEO and closed a $6 million Series C investment round from existing investors. Andy May joins TAZZ as president and CEO, replacing Dan Lowe who now assumes the role of chief strategy officer. The Series C investment included full participation of the Series B investors, BlueStream Ventures, Lazard Technology Partners, Pilot House Ventures Group, Zero Stage Capital, and Point Judith Capital.

“I feel extremely fortunate to be joining TAZZ at such an exciting point in its history. TAZZ has done an outstanding job of positioning itself in the right place, at the right time, and my job is to ensure that we execute flawlessly on the opportunities that are in front of us,” stated Andy May. “The Policy Control market seems poised for tremendous growth. As service providers converge onto an all IP network, the demand to accelerate the introduction and control the delivery of next generation services will continue to intensify.”

With fresh capital and an expanded management team, TAZZ has added a few more strategic components to fuel its next phase of growth and corporate development. TAZZ has also recently expanded its headquarters facilities and added additional office capacity in the United Kingdom to accommodate its growth. Moreover, TAZZ intends to use the new capital to expand its sales, marketing, and support organizations in order to meet the demands of continued customer and partner momentum, and to capitalize on the tremendous growth opportunities within the IP services market.

“TAZZ is excited to have Andy bringing his world-class experience in sales, marketing, and executive operations to our team,” said Dan Lowe. “Having him on board also allows us to strengthen our go-to-market strategy right when the Policy Control market segment is emerging as a necessary product category”.

According to a recent Yankee Group report focused on next generation services, it was stated that in 2004, 55% of operators viewed the migration of traditional networks to a converged packet (IP) network as their number one priority. Moreover, the report quotes that 80% of operators are currently migrating to packet based infrastructure, with the goal of creating an environment that enables them to offer new services.

To capitalize on this industry trend, TAZZ has attracted telecom industry veteran Andy May to assume the president and CEO role. Andy brings 20 years of networking industry experience to TAZZ. Throughout his career, Andy has helped to shape key markets that formed the basis for what is now the Broadband Access Market. Most recently, Andy was CEO of Millennial Net, one of the early innovators in wireless mesh networking, where he led the company through its early growth phase and into its first customers. Prior to that, he was CEO of Paradyne Corporation, where he effectively created and capitalized on opportunities in the emerging DSL and frame relay marketplaces by focusing on new products and creative marketing strategies. An accomplished executive with experience navigating public and private financial markets, Andy led Paradyne’s turnaround by first taking it private through a leveraged buyout from AT&T and then drove the company to a successful IPO in 1999. Andy has also served in various executive roles at 3Com's Network Service Provider Division, Primary Access Corporation, and CompuServe’s Network Services Division.

“We continue to be extremely positive on TAZZ, its position within the market, and the market itself. Dan Lowe and the TAZZ team have done an incredible job establishing the company as a market leader and we look forward to Dan’s continued contributions in his new role,” stated Russell Planitzer, managing principal of Lazard Technology Partners. “We are equally excited about the introduction of Andy to the TAZZ executive team. He provides a strong complement to the existing team, and we feel his background will help drive this talented group through the next stage of corporate development and ensure TAZZ’s ability to achieve tremendous success.”

Tazz Networks Inc.