NEWS: 5th generation DDS tape commercially available in UK from 23rd June

Please find below a news release from Certance, the world leader in cost-effective data-protection. The facts in summary are as follows: 1. As of 23 June 2003, DAT 72, the fifth generation of DDS tape solutions, will be available through resellers in the UK 2. The extension of the DDS roadmap protects storage investments and business continuance strategies for small-to-medium business needs 3. Backward compatible, DAT 72 solutions offer the highest capacity performance of any DDS technology solution on the market. To speak with Certance or one of their resellers, please contact Catherine McFarland or Mark Jackson at Ketchum on 020 7611 3500 or email firstname.lastname@ketchum.com

Certance Delivers 5th Generation DDS Tape Solutions with DAT 72 and TapeStor DAT 72

DDS Roadmap Extension Protects Storage Investments And Business Continuance Strategies For Small-To-Medium Business Needs

Certance, the world leader in cost-effective data protection for companies of all sizes, today announced the immediate availability of its DAT 72 tape drives and TapeStor DAT 72 bundled solutions. Delivering on Certances commitment to the more than six million users worldwide who rely on DDS technology to solve their data storage challenges, DAT 72 solutions offer the highest capacity and performance of any DDS technology solution on the market.

Certances new DAT 72 drives provide users with an 80 percent increase in capacity, with compressed capacity of up to 72 gigabytes (GB) per data cartridge, and a 25 percent increase in transfer rates of up to 25.2 GB per hour over DDS-4 technology. In addition, Certances DAT 72 tape solutions maintain backward read-and-write compatibility with previous DDS generations, helping companies leverage their existing investments.

The additions to Certances comprehensive line of DDS technology offerings are based on the latest, 5th generation DDS technology. DAT 72 by Certance, a Seagate affiliate, introduces a new proprietary feature, Fragment Assembly, improving data integrity and interchange as part of an affordable, effortless backup for performance workstations and entry-level servers.

As the unit volume leader in the global tape market, Certances introduction of its new generation of DAT 72 solutions meets the continued strong demand for DDS technology, with more than one million DDS units shipped in 2002 alone," said Mike Lakowicz, Certances vice president, product strategy and business development. Our customers consistently choose DDS technology because of its lower price for both the drive and media, as well as higher capacity and reliability over competing technologies; DAT 72 builds on that tradition of capable, cost-effective performance."

Designed to deliver a level of reliability that sets the standard in the DDS product segment, the DAT 72 family incorporates features such as an environmental-sealed chamber for the head-to-tape interface and a sapphire media-cleaning blade to virtually eliminate airborne and media-based contaminants as well as automated head and capstan cleaning mechanisms that remove debris during normal tape operations.

Certance DAT tape drives and TapeStor DAT 72 tape drive bundled solutions provide    customers with increased    protection for their business-critical data," said Robert Amatruda, research manager at IDC. "In addition, DAT 72 allows server and system OEMs a critical extension for their large group of customers who use DDS tape technology today."

Certance DAT 72 tape drives are available in internal and external configurations in both drive-only and TapeStor bundled versions. All Certance DAT drives come with an industry-leading three-year warranty and the REACTä rapid replacement program.

The Certance family of DAT 72 data protection products is available through the companys worldwide network of channel partners and systems integrators. The Certance TapeStor product family includes data cartridges and cleaning cartridges.

Compatible Operating System Platforms include:
Certance DAT 72
·   Microsoft XP, 2000 Professional
·   Microsoft 2000 Server/2003 Server
·   Novell NetWare 5/6
·   UNIX, Linux, SCO and MacOS

Certance TapeStor DAT 72
·   Microsoft XP, 2000 Professional
·   Microsoft 2000 Server/2003 Server
·   Novell NetWare 5/6
·   Linux

Compatible Backup Software Applications include:
BakBone, Computer Associates, Dantz Development, NovaStor, Veritas, Yosemite Technologies

About Certance
Certance is a worldwide market leader in tape backup products and data protection solutions, with more than 12 million drives installed. Headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, Certance provides a full array of data recovery solutions including LTO Ultrium, DDS/DAT and Travan technologies, designed to meet the backup, restore and archive needs of virtually every platform from notebooks and PCs to enterprise servers. A Seagate affiliate, Certance can be found around the globe and at www.certance.com.

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Certance and the Certance logo are trademarks of Certance LLC. TapeStor is a trademark or registered trademark of Certance LLC. Seagate and Seagate Technology are registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are owned by their respective owners. Certance reserves the right to change, without notice, product offerings or specifications. Ó Copyright 2003 by Certance LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Media contacts at Ketchum for Certance:
Catherine McFarland on 020 7611 3608 or at catherine.mcfarland@ketchum.com
Mark Jackson on 020 7611 3858 or at mark.Jackson@ketchum.com