Compaq Selects Quantum's Super DLTtape Technology as Leading High-End Data Storage Platform - Company Business and Marketing

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, Nov 15, 1999

Quantum Corporation's DLT & Storage Systems Group Wednesday announced that Compaq Corporation, a worldwide leader in storage solutions and a Quantum OEM business partner, has selected Quantum's new Super DLTtape technology as their leading mid- to high-end back-up, restore, and archive solution platform. Compaq recently evaluated Quantum's new Super DLTtape drive. This first generation Super DLTtape drive will deliver more than 100GB of uncompressed storage capacity on a single cartridge with a native transfer rate greater than 10MB/sec. Super DLTtape technology is also designed to offer backward compatibility with DLT 8000, DLT 7000 and DLT 4000 classes of drives.

"We are responding to our customers' needs for performance, capacity, reliability, and backward compatibility. Super DLTtape is base technology that best positions Compaq to address these customer requirements," said Howard Elias, vice president and general manager of Compaq's Storage Products Division. "Super DLTtape technology, combined with Compaq's server and StorageWorks solutions, allows Compaq to deliver NonStop eBusiness solutions to our customers based on our vision for the storage utility - the Enterprise Network Storage Architecture."

"Our relationship with Compaq is important to continued growth and success within the data storage industry," said Brodie Keast, vice president and general manager of Quantum Corporation's DLTtape Division.

Super DLTtape technology is well positioned among mid- to high-end tape systems under development. The technology has earned a strong level of OEM support in the product development process.

"The endorsement of a new tape architecture by major server and automation vendors provides credibility for a new technology platform," said Fara Yale, chief analyst, Computer Storage Service at Gartner Group's Dataquest. "Because of their influence on the market and end-users, interest in the technology by other competing and supporting companies should be enhanced."

Super DLTtape is an extension of the industry's leading data storage platform, DLTtape, which today has an installed base of more than 1.3 million drives and nearly 40 million DLTtape cartridges.

"Compaq's thorough process of technology evaluation, and the selection of Super DLTtape, demonstrates the ability of the technology to satisfy our customers' expanding data storage needs," said George Saliba, vice president of Quantum's Advanced Products Group and chief technical officer for Quantum's DLT & Storage Systems Group. "We are equally pleased with reports from our other OEM and library partners about their preliminary evaluation results."

Using the enhanced architecture of Super DLTtape, Quantum will be able to offer a multi-generation family of competitively priced tape storage products that range in capacity from more than 100 GB up to one terabyte and range in transfer rates from greater than 10 MB/sec to 100 MB/sec (uncompressed).

Like previous generations of DLTtape drives, Super DLTtape is expected to support all major systems and platforms, including UNIX, Linux, NetWare, Windows, Windows NT, Windows 98 and Windows 2000. As with the current DLTtape product line, Super DLTtape drives will be widely supported by all major Independent Software Vendors (ISVs).

With more than 1.3 million DLTtape drives and nearly 40 million DLTtape media cartridges installed to date, DLTtape technology is the defacto standard for back up and archiving of business-critical data from mid-range servers and high-end workstations. Information on the DLTtape platform can be found at www.DLTtape.com. Information about Super DLTtape can be found at www.DLTtape.com/super_dlttape.> Founded in 1980, Quantum Corporation (www.quantum.com) is the world's leading storage supplier in four of the six markets it serves: desktop hard disk drives, tape drives, network attached storage (NAS) appliances and solid state systems. Quantum is also the second largest supplier of mid-range tape automation systems and a leading supplier of high capacity hard disk drives. Selling its products through OEM and distribution channels worldwide, Quantum's sales for the fiscal year ending March 1999 were $4.9 billion. In 1999 Quantum became the first Silicon Valley company to issue tracking stock, replacing its existing common stock with the ticker symbols DSS and HDD, which track the separate performance of the company's DLT and Storage Systems and Hard Disk Drive businesses. Both stocks are traded on the New York Stock Exchange. FMI: www.quantum.com, 408 894-4000.