Speaking of DLT (my bolding). DLT8000 to ship early in the second half of this calendar year:
Tape Market Leader Quantum Set to
Deliver Next-Generation DLT 8000 Drive
Major System Manufacturers to Integrate New 80GB
High Performance DLTtape Solution
MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 1999--Quantum Corporation (Nasdaq/NMS:QNTM -
news) today announced broad-based OEM support for its latest DLTtape(TM) backup solution, the DLT
8000.
Quantum, the market leader in tape backup systems that protect mission-critical data content in enterprise
and business computing environments, has taken orders from its major OEM customers to incorporate
the DLT 8000 drive, now in qualification, into system-level products.
The DLT 8000 will provide up to 80GB of compressed capacity, a performance gain of approximately 20
percent over current DLTtape drives, and even higher reliability than the current DLT 7000 product. The
drive will utilize widely available DLTtape IV media, and will be fully backward compatible with existing
DLT 4000 and DLT 7000 products. The DLT 8000 will offer the same broad product support and
cross-platform compatibility available in current DLTtape products.
DLTtape systems have an installed base of more than one million drive units and 30 million cartridges.
Further, according to Freeman Associates, a market research firm based in Santa Barbara, Calif.,
Quantum led the tape drive market in revenues for 1998 for the second year, earning the largest share of
revenue for its DLTtape drive sales. ''All the knowledge and experience gained from building a
million-plus systems is being applied to the new 8000 program,'' said Bill Boles, vice president, marketing
for Quantum's DLTtape Division, ''so our customers can look forward to an extension of the reliability,
capacity and performance they have come to expect from the DLTtape platform.''
OEMs who have confirmed that they are currently qualifying the DLT 8000 for implementation in
stand-alone tape backup systems, autoloaders and libraries include ADIC (NMS:ADIC); ATL Products, a
Quantum company; Breece Hill, a Global MAINTECH Corp. (OTC-BB: GLBM - news); Exabyte
(NSM:EXBT); Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HWP - news); IBM Corp. (NYSE:IBM - news); Overland
Data Inc. (NMS:OVRL); Qualstar Corp.; StorageTek (NYSE:STK - news); Siemens AG
(OTC:SMAWY/ADR). Other OEMs are evaluating the DLT 8000 and will announce their plans at later
dates.
In addition, value-added resellers evaluating the DLT 8000 platform for solution integration include
Artecon Inc. (NMS:ARTE), MTI Technology Corp. (NMS:MTIC) and Procom Technology Inc.
(NMS:PRCM).
''As a scalable, high-performance backup platform, DLTtape offers the most compelling feature set
available to the market,'' said Adam Thew, marketing manager, Storage Systems Division,
Hewlett-Packard Company. ''Moreover, it offers backward compatibility with the majority of legacy data
out there, and that is a key issue in our customers' purchasing decision.''
The DLT 8000 is expected to begin shipping early in the second half of this calendar year. Pricing has not
yet been set; however, Quantum expects to deliver a highly cost-effective tape solution, on par with
current high-performance DLTtape solutions.
''The DLT 8000 will further establish Quantum's leadership position in the mid-range tape market,'' said
Ray Freeman, president of Freeman Associates. ''Quantum is delivering on its promise to continue
moving this technology forward.''
About Quantum
Founded in 1980, Quantum Corporation (www.quantum.com) is a diversified mass storage company
committed to achieving customer satisfaction through high quality and reliability. Quantum is the highest
volume global supplier of hard disk drives for personal computers, a leading supplier of high capacity
hard drives and the worldwide revenue leader among all classes of tape drives. Quantum sells a broad
range of storage products to OEM and distribution customers worldwide. Quantum's sales for the fiscal
year ending March 1998 were $5.8 billion.
Contact Quantum Corporation: Quantum Corp., 500 McCarthy Blvd., Milpitas, CA 95035, (408)
894-4000, www.quantum.com
The foregoing statements regarding future price/performance, shipping schedules, and the success of
future products are forward-looking statements, and actual results could vary. Factors which could
affect actual results include the successful completion of remaining development efforts, Quantum's
ability to ramp up to manufacture the new products in the required quantities, market acceptance of the
products and the price/performance characteristics of Quantum's and competitive product offerings.
(c) Quantum and the Quantum logo are trademarks of Quantum Corporation, registered in the United
States and other countries. DLT and DLTtape are trademarks of Quantum Corporation.
Contact:
Quantum Corporation
Julie Quattro, 408/894-4768
julie.quattro@quantum.com
or
The Hoffman Agency
for Quantum Corp.
Laurel Redden, 603/893-4823
redden@mediaone.net
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