Network Appliance and Fujitsu Siemens Computers Announce Strategic European Alliance

Business Wire, July 11, 2000

Business Editors and High Tech Writers

SUNNYVALE, Calif. and BAD HOMBURG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- July 11, 2000

Fujitsu Siemens Computers expands product portfolio with Network

Appliance(TM) network-attached storage (NAS) solutions

Network Appliance, Inc., (NASDAQ: NTAP), the leading provider of network-attached data access and content management solutions, and Fujitsu Siemens Computers today announced a strategic alliance that establishes Fujitsu Siemens Computers as a reseller of Network Appliance filers throughout Europe. NetApp(R) filers extend Fujitsu Siemens Computers' solutions for online storage, archiving, storage management software, and storage networking.

According to Dataquest, Network Appliance storage systems account for approximately 60 percent of the worldwide NAS market. NetApp filers are designed to manage multiterabyte capacities of stored data and directly attach to corporate networks, offering a scalable solution to managing large amounts of Internet and enterprise applications data in a single system. With exceptionally high performance and high availability that exceeds 99.99 percent uptime, NetApp filers can simultaneously manage and administer data sharing in both Windows NT(R) and UNIX(R) environments.

Reliable storage solutions are a vital component of today's IT network infrastructure. Fujitsu Siemens Computers provides a comprehensive product portfolio for tailor-made storage solutions which fit today's predominantly heterogeneous server and application customer environments. Design, implementation, and support will be handled by Fujitsu Siemens Computers' specially trained, international storage solution team.

"The alliance with the NAS market leader, Network Appliance, underlines our strategy of offering our customers solutions which are based on best-in-class products," explains Dr. Helmut Beck, head of the storage division at Fujitsu Siemens Computers. "The combination of FSC's solutions competence and Network Appliance's outstanding products, is a win-win for our companies and customers."

"We are excited about the partnership with Fujitsu Siemens Computers. Our innovative storage solutions for database, ERP, e-commerce, and enterprise applications match perfectly with a European leader in enterprise computing that offers market-proven expertise in the storage market," says Ian Henderson, managing director, Europe, at Network Appliance. "We are looking forward to a successful working relationship as we penetrate new market opportunities throughout Europe."

NetApp filers are designed for enterprise environments that require 99.99 percent availability. Network Appliance offers a full range of software products that simplify data management and increase data availability. Unique features of Network Appliance data management solutions include:

--   Snapshot(TM) technology that maintains multiple backups online to
     ensure consistent images of databases and provide read-only
     copies of databases for backup, queries, decision support, and
     report generation. All of this is accomplished without expensive
     disk mirroring or performance degradation.

--   SnapMirror(TM) software provides remote mirroring of data for
     quick disaster recovery, offline backup, and data sharing.

--   SnapRestore(TM) software allows any system to revert back to a
     specified Snapshot for instant recovery. Recovery of
     multiterabyte-sized databases can now be done in minutes rather
     than hours without ever going to tape.

--   SnapManager(TM) for Exchange allows companies to utilize NetApp
     filers to help system administrators easily recover and backup
     Microsoft(R) Exchange databases -- significantly reducing time
     and costs associated with Exchange server downtime.

About Fujitsu Siemens Computers

Fujitsu Siemens Computers was formed through a joint venture between Fujitsu Computers (Europe) Limited and Siemens Computer Systems, and commenced operations on 1st October 1999. The company is jointly owned by Fujitsu Limited and Siemens AG, and has its headquarters in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. With extensive European manufacturing facilities, customer-focused companies in 25 European countries, and more than 7,200 experienced employees, Fujitsu Siemens Computers is aiming to be the number one computer company in its home market, Europe, by the year 2001.

Fujitsu Siemens Computers provides the world's most complete portfolio of best-in-the-class IT products. From the smallest notebooks to the most powerful data centre solutions, its world-leading technology creates solutions to business problems and enhances individual's lifestyle. Developed and manufactured in Europe for Europe, the product portfolio benefits from the technologies and worldwide sourcing networks of the parent companies.

In addition to an enviable customer base which includes most of the top 1,000 largest enterprises in the Europe, the company's assets include: relationships with more than 2,000 of the leading VARs, distributors and retailers with over 100,000 outlets serving millions of customers; a sales organisation with more than 2,500 sales professionals; and the combined strengths of the parent companies - with a global network of service and integration partners as well as more than 80,000 specialists dedicated to the product portfolio. Fujitsu Siemens Computers is the new IT force in Europe. www.fujitsu-siemens.com