SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 23, 2000--Overland Data Inc. (Nasdaq:OVRL), a technology leader in tape backup products, today announced the introduction of tape storage and automation solutions built around affordable DLT1 technology, marking the next step in its corporate strategy to supply entry-level to enterprise solutions.
Overland unveiled a standalone 40 GB (native) DLT1 tape subsystem for $1,495 (MSRP) and also announced a DLT1-based version of its award-winning LoaderXpress(TM), creating a 400-gigabyte capacity autoloader solution with sub-$5,000 pricing (MSRP). These products will be shown for the first time at CeBIT at Overland's booth, Hall 9, Unit F7, Stand C16.
The DLT1-based products bring Overland customers economical additions to the company's comprehensive DLT(a)-based solutions and leverage the unprecedented value of the DLT1 format to open up the robustness and reliability of DLT technology to customers that have previously been limited to 4mm and 8mm products. It is backward read-compatible with DLT4000, offering an excellent growth path for current DLT4000 customers.
Based on technology licensed from Quantum Corp., the Benchmark DLT1 tape drive offers a 40 GB native capacity (80 GB compressed) and a 3 MB/second native transfer rate (6 MB/sec compressed), providing enterprise reliability and performance at entry-level pricing.
Comparably priced DDS drives offer a native capacity of just 20 GB and a data transfer rate of only 2.4 MB/sec, along with the inherent complexity of the DDS format and consumer electronics heritage of 4mm digital audio tape technology. With the rapid growth in entry-level server disk capacity, users whose needs are starting to exceed the performance and capacity of DDS can now move into DLT technology.
"The addition of DLT1 technology to the Overland product line fulfills our mission to deliver the best in entry-level to enterprise storage solutions," said Steve Richardson, vice president of marketing at Overland. "Customers now have the freedom to choose the DLT platform for entry-level server and workstation applications without the price barriers of the past. These customers can deploy DLT-based tape products and operate with a single, compatible, reliable tape platform strategy. And for storage automation, they can now take advantage of Overland's award-winning robotics technology as well."
"This broadens Overland's advanced automation solutions, from entry-level server markets up to the forthcoming Super DLTtape," said William Boles, vice president, marketing Quantum DLTtape. "The DLTtape brand represents reliabilty, and Overland's DLT1 solutions will combine this reliabilty with outstanding value for their category."
"The integration of Benchmark's DLT1 drive into Overland's LoaderXpress provides the server market with a powerful data management solution. Overland has created the ideal automation complement to our DLT1 drives, offering 10-cartridge capacity, a robust robotic design and the convenience of the media magazine," said Charlene Murphy, executive vice president, sales and marketing at Benchmark. "Overland's customer-proven record of reliability in thousands of installations combined with prestigious editorial awards from publications such as Computer Reseller News, have convinced us that the LoaderXpress is an excellent DLT1 solution."
Overland's LoaderXpress -- dubbed "tape nirvana" in the CRN product review -- established new standards for DLT loaders in the areas of ease of use, with a convenient cartridge magazine design; customer choice, with three models that address a broad spectrum of storage requirements; and field-proven reliability with mainframe-class robotics technology, benefits that are missing in competitive DLT loaders. With a 10-cartridge capacity model, the DLT1 LoaderXpress delivers native storage capacity that permits the average PC server to be backed up for two months without any operator intervention.
LoaderXpress is supported by the leading data management and backup software applications from Legato, Computer Associates and Veritas on all major computing platforms, including Windows NT(a) Server, Sun Solaris(a), IBM AIX(a), HP-UX(a), Linux and Novell NetWare(a). In addition to the unmatched reliability and value, LoaderXpress customers are protected by Overland's exclusive three-year warranty, the longest in the industry.
Overland's DLT1 drives and loaders will be available second quarter 2000. MSRP for the LoaderXpress LXL1B10 is $4,695, the tabletop DLT1BT $1,675 and the raw drive DLT1B $1,495.
About Overland
Overland Data Inc. (Nasdaq:OVRL) is a global supplier of innovative data storage and storage automation solutions for computer networks. The company's award-winning DLT LibraryXpress(TM) SmartScale Storage(R) architecture has set new standards for intelligent automated storage and scalability and established Overland as a leader in the mid-range tape storage market.
Today, Overland is broadening its product line and technology offerings to address additional segments of the storage market, including the entry-level small-business market, as well as the higher-end enterprise environment.
Overland's patented Variable Rate Randomizer (VR2(TM)) data encoding technology, capable of substantially increasing the capacity and throughput of linear tape formats, is being applied by the company to Travan tape drives, and has been licensed to Seagate Technology, Tandberg Data and Imation Corp. for inclusion in next-generation tape drives.
Overland products, acclaimed for their quality and reliability, are sold worldwide through leading OEMs, including Compaq, IBM, Fujitsu Siemens Computers and Groupe Bull; commercial distributors such as Ingram Micro, Tech Data Corp. and Bell Microproducts; as well as storage integrators and value-added resellers.
(a) DLT, DLTtape, Super DLTtape, and the DLTtape logo are trademarks of Quantum Corp. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
For Overland: Except for the factual statements made herein, the information contained in this news release consists of forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Words and expressions reflecting optimism and satisfaction with current prospects, as well as words such as "believe," "intends," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," and variations thereof, identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance, and the company's actual results could differ materially from those contained in such statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include unexpected shortages of critical components, rescheduling or cancellation of customer orders, loss of a major customer, the timing and market acceptance of new product introductions by the company and its competitors, general competition and price pressures in the marketplace, and the company's ability to control costs and expenses. Reference is also made to other factors set forth in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including the "Risk Factors," "Management's Discussion and Analysis" and other sections of the company's Form 10-K for the most recently completed fiscal year. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release, and the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date of this release.
For Quantum Corp.: The foregoing statements regarding future technology, products incorporating that technology the anticipated performance and compatibility of the products, as well as the potential market acceptance of the products are forward-looking statements and actual results could vary. Factors that affect actual results include the success of the ongoing technology development efforts, the ability to successfully integrate new technology into products in a cost-effective manner, the ability to successfully manufacture and distribute new products at sufficient volume, quality and reasonable cost, the timing of new product introductions, competition and the significant uncertainty of market acceptance of new products.
Quantum is a trademark of Quantum Corp., registered in the United States and other countries.
CONTACT: Overland Data
858/571-5555
http://www.overlanddata.com
Steve Richardson (product information)
srichardson@overlanddata.com
Scott McClendon (investors)
smcclendon@overlanddata.com
Vernon LoForti (investors)
vloforti@overlanddata.com
or
JPR Communications
Judy Smith, 818/386-0403
jprcommun@aol.com
http://www.jprcom.com
