COPAN Systems Enhances Channel Partner Programme, Signs 11 New Agreements Worldwide.

CHERTSEY, England -- COPAN Systems (www.copansystems.com), the leader in persistent data storage solutions, today announced the launch of its International Channel Partner Programme. The new programme will help the company deliver its patented MAID (Massive Array Idle Disks) storage solutions to enterprise customers worldwide to enable them to cost effectively protect and manage their long-term data storage. Specifically, the programme is targeted at customers in healthcare and pharmaceutical, government and public sector, financial services and banking, telecommunication and media entertainment and broadcast industries.

To date, COPAN Systems has signed over 50 agreements with Value-Added Resellers (VARs), distributors and System Integrators (SIs) across the globe. In EMEA, COPAN Systems works with 21 partners including VADition, Comparex, ARES IT Services, Terasystems STME, HMK Group, CPE Group, Sistemas Informaticos Abiertos (SIA), and E&M Computer Systems. Currently, 82 percent of COPAN Systems' EMEA business is indirect and 18 percent is direct.

In North America COPAN Systems works with 25 partners including Forsythe, Razor Technology, GTSI and LSI. Currently, 75 percent of COPAN Systems' North America business is indirect and 25 percent is direct.

In Asia Pacific and Japan, COPAN Systems works with 12 partners including Dataflex, CTC and KITT. Currently, 100 percent of COPAN Systems' APAC business is indirect.

As part of its partner programme, COPAN Systems invests in developing skills and resources for its partners to ensure that they have the full gamut of information available to them to deliver credible, expert and quality service to all customers. Currently, COPAN Systems partners benefit from a vast array of training programmes which are provided either onsite of via a webcast, pre-sales technical support, presentations, promotions and a variety of marketing collateral which are all on its Partner Portal.

"We are committed to working collaboratively with our partners to provide customers with a purpose built solution to address persistent data. COPAN Systems partners are continuing to benefit from our dedication to the channel, and through the enhancement of our programme, we can provide greater opportunities for them to increase their profitability, increase their customer base and differentiate from the competition," says Rod Evans, EMEA Channel Partner Manager, COPAN Systems.

More than 75 percent of data is persistent - by definition, long-term data which is recorded or aged to a point that it is unlikely to change or be modified, but must be retained. COPAN Systems' Enterprise MAID platform is purpose-built for persistent data. It uses ultra-dense disk configurations and has a unique benefit in that disks which have no outstanding IO requests can be powered down, thus reducing power consumption by around 85 percent.

Jocelyn Al Adwani, CEO STME, comments: "COPAN Systems presents an attractive opportunity for our customers who are concerned by the sheer volume of data within their organisation. Their MAID platform allows us to offer a credible long-term solution rather than a short-term band-aid approach to the tough challenge of explosive data growth. It was their innovative product that attracted us to COPAN Systems and the massive power savings and effective economics of persistent data management that keeps us working with them."

COPAN Systems aims to add a significant number of additional partnerships in the next 5 years.

About COPAN Systems

COPAN Systems provides the industry's only purpose-built Persistent Data platform for cost-effective management, storage, access and recovery of Persistent Data for Global 5000 companies challenged with managing the cost and complexities of accelerated data growth. With the only Enterprise MAID OS in the world, COPAN Systems provide operative best practice for the long-term storage, protection and retrieval of persistent data. The Enterprise MAID architecture dramatically reduces power, cooling and floor space costs in the data center. Expanding to well over 8 PB within a single chassis, COPAN Systems delivers unmatched density and scalability for large enterprise environments, including healthcare, financial, government, media and service provider industries. The company is privately held with investments by Austin Ventures, Globespan Capital, Pequot Ventures, Credit Suisse and Battery Ventures.

More information is available at http://www.COPANSystems.com.