COSTA MESA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 23, 2000--Seagate Technology Inc. (NYSE:SEG), a leading manufacturer of computer tape drive products, and Overland Data Inc. (Nasdaq:OVRL), a technology leader in tape backup products, today announced that Seagate has chosen Overland's LoaderXpress(TM) technology for its first Linear Tape Open, or LTO, technology-based automated storage solution offering.
Seagate will market the LoaderXpress with its Viper 200 LTO drives under its own brand for application in the mid-range storage market.
The Seagate-Overland OEM alliance signals the launch of a new generation of tape storage technology.
Seagate's reliable, high-performance Viper 200-based Ultrium format automation solution, combined with Overland's field-proven mainframe-class robotics technology, which has earned close to 20 editorial excellence awards, will establish new standards for capacity, performance and reliability.
The result is the highest-announced compressed data transfer rate in a 10-cartridge loader -- up to 1.92 GB per minute and a compressed per-cartridge capacity of up to 200 GB (assuming 2:1 data compression), which yields up to 2 TB of unattended backup capacity.
"Seagate's Viper LTO product line provides high-performance data backup solutions and superior product reliability, and Overland is renowned for the reliability of its robotics technology," said Kevin Perry, executive director of marketing and business development, Seagate Removable Storage Solutions.
"The combination of the Viper 200 drives and Overland's tape automation technology will provide our customers with a new standard in high uptime tape performance. This is a match of two industry leaders that will result in a superior storage solution."
Overland and Seagate have teamed up to bring LTO automation solutions to the market at a time when tape automation is one of the hottest segments in the storage industry. According to a new report from International Data Corp. (IDC), tape automation sales will grow at an annual rate of 25 percent, creating a market opportunity of more than $5 billion by 2003.
"The alliance between Overland and Seagate provides an excellent framework to launch LTO," said Bob Amatruda, senior analyst, tape and removable storage at IDC. "Both companies are well positioned in the burgeoning tape automation market."
According to Steve Richardson, vice president of marketing at Overland: "With Overland tape libraries and loaders having exceeded shipments of 20,000 units, this provides an additional endorsement of the award-winning LoaderXpress by an industry leader.
"Seagate's LTO loader will provide 2 TB of reliable tape backup storage in a small footprint and offers Seagate customers an affordable and excellent alternative to more costly tape libraries."
Seagate and Overland have successfully partnered in the past, with Seagate licensing Overland's VR2 technology, which significantly increases capacity and performance of linear tape drives.
About Seagate Technology
Seagate Technology Inc. (NYSE:SEG), is a leading provider of technology and products enabling people to store, access and manage information. The company is committed to providing best-in-class products to help people get information when, where and how they want it.
Seagate is the world's largest manufacturer of disc drives, magnetic discs and read-write heads, an innovator in tape drives, and a leading developer of Business Intelligence software.
Seagate can be found around the globe and on the World Wide Web at http://www.seagate.com. For automated news, stock and financial information by phone, dial toll-free 877/SEG-NYSE. Outside the United States and Canada, dial 760/704-4368.
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.
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.
For Seagate: This news release includes forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, decreased product demand and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Actual results may differ materially from management expectations.
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.
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
Seagate Technology
Dan Miller, 714/966-4743
daniel_e_miller@notes.seagate.com
Woody Monroy, 831/439-2838
woody_monroy@notes.seagate.com
or
JPR Communications
Judy Smith, 818/386-0403
jprcommun@aol.com
http://www.jprcom.com
