News Release

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 16, 2001--Overland Data Inc. (NASDAQ: OVRL), a technology leader in automated tape backup products, today announced that its AIT LibraryPro(TM) has officially been certified to work with Syncsort Inc.'s Backup Express, a high-performance enterprise backup and restore product designed specifically for multi-platform environments, offering users a low-cost alternative into the Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) arena.

NDMP enables communication of backup and restore commands between Backup Express and Overland's LibraryPro. Using SCSI-connects, Backup Express simplifies common tape library operations by connecting multiple UNIX and Windows NT machines to a single multi-drive library, such as the LibraryPro, to reduce network traffic and maximize hardware investments. Benefits of distributing tape devices include increased backup and restore speed, reduced network congestion, elimination of bottlenecks and improved security.

"For companies looking to leverage their storage investment, Overland's AIT LibraryPro with Syncsort's Backup Express provides an excellent total tape solution," said Steve Richardson, vice president of marketing at Overland. "LibraryPro's robust architecture and performance combined with Syncsort's flexibility, ease of use and automated administration create an impressive option for users wishing to leverage the NDMP protocol."

"In today's world of exploding data growth, it is important for users to know that their storage solution is fast, dependable and easily scalable," said Vic Werner, director of marketing at Syncsort. "Overland's AIT LibraryPro meets that criteria and helps to make our Backup Express stand head and shoulders above others in the NDMP marketplace."

Certification for the LibraryPro follows similar Syncsort certifications for other Overland products, including the LoaderXpress(R), MinilibraryXpress(TM), LibraryXpress(TM) and EnterpriseXpress(TM).

Overland's LibraryPro combines the company's ultra-reliable Mainframe Class Robotics(TM) technology with the inherent advantages of Sony's AIT technology, which offers the highest data transfer rate, cartridge capacity, longest head life and fastest time to data of all mid-range backup systems in their price class. LibraryPro allows customers to scale the capacity and performance in increments for a customized solution to precisely match their specific storage needs, not locking them into restrictive monolithic library designs that dictate fixed drive and cartridge slot configurations. Along with the unmatched scalability of the LibraryPro, Overland adds simplified media management with a tape cartridge magazine design to facilitate bulk cartridge installation and storage as well as a convenient mail slot for individual tape insertion into the library.

The innovative distributed robotics architecture of the LibraryPro is based on the company's highly reliable DLT LibraryXpress(TM) design, which provides modular plug-and-play scalability, and which has won more than 25 editorial awards worldwide, unmatched by any other automated data storage product.

Overland products are backed by the company's innovative Guaranteed Up Time Service (GUTS(TM)) warranty program guaranteeing 99 percent uptime performance and 100 percent data recovery, the only guarantee of its kind in the industry.

The LibraryPro will be available with new AIT-3 tape drives in mid-2001.

About Backup Express

Syncsort's Backup Express is an advanced, enterprise-wide backup and restore solution for UNIX, Windows NT and NetWare operating systems. It also supports SANs, NDMP/NAS, and Windows 2000. The product allows customers to put backup devices on UNIX, NT and NetWare while maintaining a single, central catalog on UNIX or Windows NT for the entire enterprise. Backup Express can cluster tape drives, including large automated libraries, at any server on the enterprise, NT or UNIX, keep sensitive data off the network, and allow on-line backups of large database servers such as Oracle, SAP, MS Exchange, and SQL Server. Backup Express' NDMP support allows users to back up their NDMP-based Filers and Appliances to tape in one of three ways. First, from a Filer or Appliance to a directly attached tape drive or library; second, from one Filer or Appliance to a tape drive or library attached to another Filer or Appliance (Filer-to-Filer); or third, from a Filer or Appliance to a tape library attached to a server (Filer-to-Server). Not only does Backup Express offer the greatest flexibility in NDMP-based backups, but also the fastest file level restore, both in viewing the catalog to choose the file to restore and the restore process itself with its Direct Access Restore capabilities.

About Syncsort

Syncsort Inc. is a leading developer of high-performance systems and data warehousing utility software for mainframe, UNIX and Windows environments. For more than 30 years, Syncsort has built a reputation for superior product performance and reliable technical support. An independent market research firm has named Syncsort as one of the top Data Warehouse 100 Vendors for two years in a row. Over 95 percent of the Fortune 100 companies are Syncsort customers, and Syncsort's products are used in more than 50 countries to speed data warehouse processing, improve database loads, speed query processing and data mining projects and to backup and protect vital corporate information in a distributed environment. For more information, visit the Syncsort web site at www.syncsort.com.

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 the standard 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 its entry-level tape drive offerings. It has also been licensed to Imation Corp., Seagate Technology, StorageTek and Tandberg Data. Overland products, acclaimed for their quality and reliability, are sold worldwide through leading OEMs, including Compaq, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Groupe Bull, IBM and NCR commercial distributors such as Bell Microproducts, Ingram Micro and Tech Data Corp., as well as storage integrators and value-added resellers.

Note to Editors: Advanced Intelligent Tape and AIT are trademarks of Sony Electronics. Backup Express is a trademark of Syncsort Inc.

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