ADIC Launches New Support Center; World-Wide, 24-Hour Technical Support Features Multi-Lingual Capabilities.

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 21, 1999--

Advanced Digital Information Corporation (Nasdaq:ADIC), the leading international supplier of scalable tape library systems and storage management software, today announced the opening of its new ADIC Technical Assistance Center (ATAC).

The new Center features a world-wide help desk system that gives all ADIC hardware and software customers fast access to live support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. ATAC features a newly integrated globally accessible international database and a multi-lingual fast-response dispatch system designed to reduce hold times, provide dramatic improvements in overall service, and to link callers with local-language support technicians.

"We designed the new ADIC Technical Assistance Center specifically to meet the needs of the enterprise-wide computing environments that rely on ADIC hardware and software to protect and manage their electronic information," noted Rob Swanson, ADIC vice president of world-wide customer support. "These are 24-hour operations with global reach, and with multiple hardware platforms and operating systems. They support branch offices, work groups and complete data centers, and they keenly recognize the value of data. ATAC will make certain that these IT organizations get all the support they need as quickly as possible, in the language the users prefer, whatever their environment and wherever they are located."

ATAC is a centralized technical assistance system designed to minimize customer hold times, shorten problem resolution cycles, and ensure that customers receive support from the right technician. A toll-free number offers seven-day-a-week, 24-hour-a-day dispatch coverage, which provides rapid links to the required technical resources and matches local language needs. Available ADIC resources include:

-- Technical Support Help Desk, which specializes in small library

support (including next-day exchange services),

-- On-site Customer Engineers for larger library systems,

-- SAN Support Team offering one-call support for ADIC Storage Area

Networking products, and

-- Software Support Team, specialists in ADIC storage management

software.

The ATAC support team includes field technicians located throughout the world along with support technicians and system engineering resources centered in Redmond, Washington; Denver, Colorado; Boehmenkirch, Germany; Paris, France; and London, England. ATAC service is currently available in more than 40 countries world-wide.

"We believe that the ATAC support system will provide a better approach to resolving our customers' issues quickly," commented Bill Britts, ADIC executive vice-president of sales and marketing. "ADIC supports the broadest product line in the industry -- from autoloaders to petabyte-capacity libraries to Fibre Channel Storage Area Networks to specialized storage management software. And we have one of the largest installed bases of automated tape storage products in the world: more than 45,000 units and rising rapidly. With ATAC, we can support that kind of installed base efficiently and make sure that people aren't put on hold for an hour trying to get to someone who knows about their system."

As it rolls out, ATAC takes its place as part of one of the most innovative and effective warranty and service systems in the storage industry. ADIC was one of the first organizations to include full on-site service with its mid-range and larger tape libraries. It was one of the first companies to stand behind its tape library products for a full three-year warranty period. It was the first tape library company to offer a 24-hour fast exchange program to provide rapid exchange services for smaller storage devices from integrated logistical centers located throughout Europe and North America. And it is one of the only suppliers of storage management systems to provide single-call support for open-system Storage Area Networks.

"ADIC plans to continue to lead the way in providing support services that match the way that our customers manage storage throughout the enterprise," commented Rob Swanson. "The next major advance that we see is vastly increased web-enabled service offerings, which we plan to extend to include remote, component-level diagnostics and management."

About ADIC

With more than 45,000 automated tape libraries installed and a suite of innovative software solutions and Storage Area Networking (SAN) products, ADIC is a leading global provider in the growing market to manage and protect information for computer networks. Marketed under ADIC and ADIC/GRAU brands and the brands of OEM partners, including Dell, Exabyte and Unisys, automated tape libraries are available with DLTtape, D2, half-inch, AIT, and 4mm tape technologies, and are supported by leading backup and storage management software products for Windows NT, UNIX, and mainframe operating systems. The Company's own storage management tools include AMASS(R) direct data access software which provides network users shared access to information stored in automated libraries. A pioneer in Storage Area Networks, ADIC's Open SAN Solutions combine open-system SAN hardware and software with installation services and single-call support. Further product information is available via the Internet at www.adic.com.

ADIC, Scalar, AML, AMASS and FibreReady are trademarks of Advanced Digital Information Corporation. AIT is a trademark of Sony Corporation. DLTtape is a trademark of Quantum Corporation. All other product, trademark, company, or service names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.