Features - Storage Innovations:

QUANTUM ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY OF THE ATL M1800 TAPE LIBRARY

Quantum Corp, a leading provider of data protection systems, has announced availability of the ATL M1800, an 8U (rack unit) tape library with up to four DLTtape or LTO drives and 42/50 cartridge slots, free on-site installation and a standard 5x9xNext Business Day (NBD) warranty, all at the most aggressive pricing offered for tape automation products in its class. The ATL M1800 effectively addresses the needs of customers for a cost-effective and high performance 40/60 slot library and successfully bridges Quantum's current ATL M1500 and ATL M2500 products. With the availability of the ATL M1800, Quantum has effectively reset the bar for high performance and scalable mid-range libraries for today's budget-conscious customer and those with responsibility for planning for future growth.

At an MSRP at about $29,000 for a typical dual SDLT 320 configuration, pricing comparisons between competitive systems show Quantum's ATLM1800 solution to provide customers with the best overall value in terms of acquisition costs, price per gigabyte, and price per square foot. Additionally, the ATL M1800 provides customers with true flexibility, better scalability and higher performance per cubic foot (a measure of system density) than competing products.

"Quantum's ATL M1800 is a great value for budget conscious customers," said Robert Amatruda, research analyst of IDC. "Additionally, the M1800 provides Quantum a very competitive offering in the fast growing small (20-99 cartridge) tape library segment."

The ATL M1800 delivers customers an initial lower acquisition cost and allows seamless scalability through a "pay as you grow" approach. Customers can purchase additional units from the entire ATL M-Series product line in tandem with data growth requirements to essentially create a single library with more tape slots and/or tape drives providing volumetric efficiencies by not taking up data center rack or floor space until needed.

"Quantum designed the ATL M1800 as a direct response to customers' needs for a reliable and lower cost library solution in the 40/60 slot capacity range," said Marc Nagao, M-Series product manager of Quantum's Storage Solutions Group. "The M1800 allows customers peace of mind in their purchasing decision by offering both a low initial acquisition cost and future protection through a myriad of data protection options."

Availability, Pricing and Support

The ATL M1800 is available for purchase today in North America and Asia Pacific regions from Quantum's network of value added resellers and leading distributors. The manufacturer's suggested list price for the base library starts at about $11,000 and includes on-site installation and a one-year of 5x9xNBD service and support warranty with available uplifts. Complete details on Quantum's service and support options can be found at www.quantum.com. Tape drives and options such as fibre channel connectivity, premium management features and redundant power supplies are available.

About Quantum

Quantum Corp, founded in 1980, is a global leader in data protection, meeting the needs of business customers with enterprise-wide storage solutions and services. Quantum is the world's largest supplier of tape drives, and its DLTtape technology is the standard for backup, archiving, and recovery of mission-critical data. Quantum is also a leader in the design, manufacture and service of automated tape libraries used to manage, store and transfer data. This year, the company expanded into the area of disk-based backup, with a solution that emulates a tape library and is optimized for data protection. Quantum sales for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2002, were approximately $1.1 billion. Quantum Corp, 501 Sycamore Dr., Milpitas, CA 95035, 408-944-4000, www.quantum.com.

Contact: Sean Lamb, Public Relations of Quantum Corporation, 408-944-6727, or sean.lamb@quantum.com.