Pillar Data Systems Extends Storage Network Connectivity Offerings with Cisco MDS Fibre Channel Portfolio

Business Wire, March 4, 2008

Pillar Reselling Complete Cisco MDS Family of Fibre Channel Switches and Directors

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Pillar Data Systems, the leading provider of Application-Aware Storage systems, today announced it has completed an agreement to resell the Cisco([R]) MDS 9000 Series of Fibre Channel storage networking fabric switches and multilayer directors. Pillar is a Cisco Solution Technology Integrator (STI) for Storage, and will resell Cisco's SMARTnet([R]) support services to provide joint customers with end-to-end technical support.

"As one of the storage industry's fastest-growing companies, we are committed to bringing leading technologies from top suppliers to address a broad range of requirements," said Bob Maness, vice president of worldwide marketing, Pillar Data Systems. "We are pleased to add the Cisco family of storage networking products to our expanding technology portfolio to help meet growing customer demands."

"Deploying the Cisco MDS Family of switches and directors in a Pillar Axiom storage network environment provides customers with leading performance and reliability," said John Growdon, director of marketing for worldwide channels at Cisco. "The Cisco MDS 9200 and 9500 Series provide a highly scalable platform for network-hosted intelligent applications like Pillar's AxiomOne Volume Replicator. Cisco is pleased to add Pillar Data as a Cisco STI."

The Pillar Axiom, an Application-Aware Storage platform, delivers industry-leading efficiency and application integration. The Axiom's ability to maintain multiple application characteristics and provide value from the server to storage significantly drives down the operational and capital costs of data center infrastructures.

The Cisco MDS 9000 Series allows organizations of all sizes to utilize Cisco intelligent networking capabilities. By delivering a compact, cost-effective design that simplifies the deployment and administration of any company's SAN environment, this line also provides an ideal balance of cost performance and enterprise-class features. The Cisco MDS products available through Pillar include the Cisco MDS 9124, 9134 and 9222i switches, as well as the full 9500 Series of directors.

About Pillar Data Systems

Founded in 2001, Pillar Data Systems develops Application-Aware Storage systems for midsize and enterprise organizations. With the highest utilization rates in the storage industry, the Pillar Axiom solution is the most efficient storage system on the market today. The Pillar Axiom cuts administrative time and total cost of ownership by more than 50 percent as well as provides the only storage system that can differentiate services based on application priority. Designed from the ground up as the only true Application-Aware Storage system, the Pillar Axiom allows users to match multiple application characteristics to the appropriate service levels within a single storage platform. Pillar Data Systems is privately funded by Tako Ventures, LLC, the venture arm of Larry Ellison. The company is headquartered at 2840 Junction Avenue, San Jose, California 95134. The company can be reached on the Web at http://www.pillardata.com, by phone at 408-503-4000 or by email at sales@pillardata.com.

Pillar Data Systems, Pillar Axiom, and the Pillar logo are all trademarks of Pillar Data Systems. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.