Retail Ventures is in Style with BakBone's NetVault Data Protection for Novell SUSE Linux

Business Wire, August 9, 2005

SAN DIEGO -- BakBone's Mixed-Platform Support Safeguards 14 TB of Vital Financial, Merchandising and Retail Data for DSW Shoe Warehouse, Filene's Basement and Value City Department Stores

BakBone Software(TM) (TSX:BKB)(Pink Sheets:BKBO), a global provider of data protection software, today announced that Retail Ventures, Inc. (NYSE:RVI), a leading diversified retail organization, has deployed NetVault for Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 to increase data availability while meeting business continuity and regulatory compliance requirements. Using BakBone's enterprise-class, disk-based backup capabilities, RVI is leveraging BakBone's leadership in delivering first-to-market data protection on Novell SUSE Linux at a 60 percent cost savings over competing solutions from Veritas and EMC.

RVI is the parent company of three major retail brands: DSW Shoe Warehouse, one of the largest shoe retailers in the U.S. with 184 stores; Filene's Basement, the country's oldest off-price store selling brand-name and designer fashions to men and women at 27 stores nationwide; and Value City Department Stores, a discount department store chain with 114 stores in more than 30 markets. Since taking over corporate IT infrastructure and support services in October 2003, RVI has embraced a highly economical, open systems-based technology strategy to boost efficiencies while lowering operational costs.

In seeking a more robust and reliable solution for protecting 14 TB of data, and growing by 20 percent annually, RVI sought a best-of-class data protection product that leverages its Linux-based storage foundation while supporting a diverse, heterogeneous computing environment. The company enlisted the support of Chi Corporation, a Cleveland-based provider of storage networking solutions to replace older versions of SyncSort's Backup Express and Computer Associates' ARCserve to support the breadth of RVI's installed operating systems, including Novell SUSE Linux, Red Hat Linux, Microsoft Windows and Sun Solaris. After an extensive review of competing data protection solutions, Chi Corporation recommended BakBone's NetVault for Novell SUSE Linux. NetVault for Novell SUSE Linux was the industry's first backup and recovery software to support the latest Linux release along with providing full compatibility for mixed-platform environments.

"BakBone's first-to-market advantage gave RVI a jumpstart on the competition and provided us with an extra measure of confidence in the breadth of their O/S support," said Dennis Moore, director of enterprise architecture for Retail Ventures, Inc. "They consistently deliver the latest releases faster than anyone else while offering a wider range of platform compatibility when compared to the other leading backup software solutions."

With NetVault for SUSE Linux, RVI has dramatically accelerated its backup and recovery of vital business information. Restores that once took up to five hours are now completed in less than 10 minutes using NetVault in conjunction with FalconStor's virtual tape library (VTL) capabilities. Additionally, NetVault ensures compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and other mounting regulations. "BakBone offered enterprise-class functionality, but at 60 percent less than the cost of competing enterprise solutions," added Moore.

For many BakBone customers, Linux offers an optimal environment for powerful yet economical centralized storage, as well as advanced data protection. The challenge for growing organizations, however, is supporting open systems and other computing environments handling corporate LANs, databases and core business applications. "BakBone's strong dedication to Linux product development is a continuing focus for heterogeneous environments and truly sets us apart from other competitors in the backup and recovery arena," said Bharat Kumar, vice president of marketing for BakBone Software. "We are committed to supporting the most current operating system versions and software kernels. We aim to protect all, not just a portion, of our customers' business-critical data."

According to John Thome, technology consultant for Chi Corporation, BakBone offers a compelling value proposition. "BakBone stays ahead of the curve in announcing support for different applications and platforms while delivering high-end functionality at an affordable price."

About BakBone Software, Inc.

BakBone Software is a leading international data protection solution provider that develops and distributes data backup, restore and disaster recovery software for network storage and open-systems environments. BakBone delivers scalable solutions that address the complex demands of large enterprise environments, as well as small- to medium-size businesses. Founded in 2000, BakBone products are used by Fortune 1000 corporations and domestic and international government entities. Distributed through a select global network of OEM partners, resellers and solution providers, interested companies can learn more information about BakBone's products and services at www.bakbone.com or email info@bakbone.com.