Acopia Launches 'Freedom Effect' Program.

Aimed At Educating Customers about the Economic Value of File Virtualization 

Leading Industry Analyst White Paper Finds File Virtualization Reduces Storage Costs By 50% - 80% and Improves Management Efficiency By Up To 90%

LOWELL, Mass. -- Acopia Networks[R], Inc., the world's leading provider of high-performance, intelligent file virtualization solutions, today announced the launch of the Acopia "Freedom Effect" Program aimed at educating customers about the economic value of file virtualization as a powerful tool for managing file-based data.

The new program helps IT organizations understand and quantify the Return on Investment (ROI) of file virtualization through a detailed comparative analysis of their current file based storage costs vs. an equivalent file virtualization enabled environment. In conjunction with the launch of the program, the company is also announcing an Acopia-sponsored IDC White Paper assessing the true economic impact of file virtualization for customers. The results are shared in a newly available white paper entitled, "The Economic Impact of File Virtualization: Reducing Storage Costs and Improving Management Efficiency." (IDC #206435)

The IDC white paper states that the rapid growth in file-based information is exposing the weaknesses of many existing IT management practices for file-based storage. Many companies continue to deploy large numbers of dispersed, underutilized file servers in support of different workgroups and geographically remote sites. Others have consolidated file-based storage on larger NAS systems but are still struggling to deal with exponential data growth and rapid technology changes.

"The explosion of file-based information has a direct economic impact on enterprises in a number of ways including underutilization of storage capacity - often at levels below 15%, as well as a growing performance and cost mismatch in terms of NAS systems deployed and backup policies followed," said Richard Villars, vice president, Storage Systems, IDC.

Enterprises are now adopting new strategies for managing file-based data. In particular, the white paper examines the role of network-based file virtualization via interviews with a group of Acopia customers.

"File virtualization solutions, such as those provided from Acopia, address three key business requirements: the need to consolidate dispersed corporate information onto more easily manageable NAS systems: the need to enable more effective use of business information, and the need to reduce the cost of doing business," Villars continued. "The companies we spoke with reported that file virtualization allowed them to reduce storage costs by 50% to 80%, while improving management efficiency by up to 90%."

"The exponentially growing costs and complexity associated with file storage management now make file virtualization a top priority for IT organizations," said Kirby Wadsworth, senior vice president of marketing and business development, Acopia. "Today's Freedom Effect Program reflects Acopia's effort to align with customer needs. We are delighted to share the findings of the IDC white paper with those that wish to gain control of, and lower the costs associated with, file-based storage."

To download your free copy of the complete IDC white paper, please visit: www.acopia.com/freedom-effect. Qualified IT organizations may receive a free detailed file virtualization cost comparison report by calling 978-513-2900 (US) / 49-89-944-90-165 (Europe) and mentioning the Acopia Freedom Effect.

About Acopia Networks

Acopia Networks is the leader in high-performance, intelligent file virtualization. Solutions based on Acopia's FreedomFabric[TM] network operating system software help customers manage the growth, complexity, and cost of unstructured, globally distributed, file-based information. By providing automatic, policy-driven, data migration, tiering, load balancing, snapshots, and replication across multi-vendor storage environments, Acopia helps IT executives to reduce management overhead and accelerate business workflow. For further information about Acopia's products and services, please visit its Website at www.acopia.com, call 978-513-2900 (US) / 49-89-944-90-165 (Europe) or email [e-mail].

(c) 2007 Acopia Networks, Inc. Acopia, Acopia Networks, ARX, and FreedomFabric are trademarks of Acopia Networks, Inc. All other brands, products, or service names may be trademarks or service marks of the companies with which they are associated.