CommVault Extends Strategic Alliance with Microsoft to Deliver Enterprise Class Data Protection and Data Management.

Business/Technology Editors

OCEANPORT, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 2000

-- Collaborative Agreements Accelerate Deployment of the New CommVault

Galaxy Storage Management Products --

CommVault Systems, Inc. today announced that it is extending its strategic alliance with Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) to provide customers with advanced data protection and data management solutions for enterprise computing environments. The objective of the alliance is to accelerate the deployment of the recently announced CommVault(R) Galaxy(TM) storage management suite on Windows 2000. Microsoft will work closely with CommVault and has made a limited equity investment to achieve this objective.

"The completion of this agreement and Microsoft's participation as the lead investor in CommVault's recently concluded mezzanine funding is evidence of our mutual commitment to deliver industry-leading enterprise class storage management solutions," said Bob Hammer, chairman, president and CEO, CommVault Systems.

"Data and storage management have never been more important to our customers, especially as the number of business-critical applications deployed on Windows 2000-based servers is accelerating," said Brian Ball, general manager of Enterprise Server Products at Microsoft. "These applications impose requirements for high reliability, scalability and manageability. CommVault is known for best-of-class data management solutions for Microsoft applications in large-scale heterogeneous environments. The Galaxy solution brings that same level of application integration and scalability to the Windows 2000 platform."

"We made a bet on Microsoft two years ago," Hammer continued. "Our vision was to take the knowledge and expertise CommVault gained from ten years of enterprise storage management experience and create a next generation architecture to address new customer requirements created by the explosive growth of data and the inevitable shift in computing models to NAS and SAN data-centric models. The bet was that the Windows 2000 Server software would provide the reliability, scalability, availability, and performance to support that architecture. Microsoft delivered."

"CommVault's vision and reputation for providing first class storage management functionality for Microsoft applications can help validate CommVault as a key player in the storage management industry," said Steve Widen, storage analyst, International Data Corporation. "Through the direct marketing and engineering support from Microsoft Corporation and the expected acceptance of its next-generation Galaxy product suite, CommVault has positioned itself as one of the leading providers of storage software solutions for Windows 2000."

"Microsoft's equity investment in CommVault Systems speaks highly of CommVault's next-generation storage management solution architecture and the potential that it promises to enterprises either deploying now or planning to deploy Windows 2000," said John Webster, senior analyst, Illuminata, Inc. "With the continued adoption of Windows 2000, and the evolution of SAN, NAS, and hybrid storage environments, CommVault is very well positioned to leverage its technology leadership in streamlined, seamless storage management for Windows 2000 enterprises."

CommVault Galaxy is the first new enterprise class data protection product developed in the last ten years, and the only one specifically designed to provide heterogeneous storage and data management from a Windows platform. This is especially important with the increasing popularity of new data-centric computing models such as Network Attached Storage (NAS) and Storage Area Networks (SAN). The business benefits of Galaxy to customers are: more reliable data protection on a much larger scale than previously available; advanced data management and faster access to business critical data through Galaxy's tight integration with key Microsoft applications such as Exchange and SQL Server; faster deployment and easier management from a single, unified Windows 2000-based console; and the ability to assist in the migration from previous Windows operating systems and applications to Windows 2000 operating systems and applications. For example, Exchange 5.5 data can be backed up today from either Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000-based servers and recalled later for use in Exchange 2000.

"Our close working relationship with Microsoft in the past has resulted in award-winning solutions that have been enthusiastically received by our customers," Hammer said. "This new agreement creates a foundation for even greater innovation in the future."

About CommVault Systems

CommVault Systems(R), Inc. is a worldwide leader in providing enterprise-wide storage management solutions for client/server environments. The company's singular focus is creating and implementing fast, reliable, and easy-to-use storage management solutions to meet customer's data management requirements. The company's software products seamlessly ensure the reliable, rapid restoration of files, business-critical applications, and today's most popular databases. Information on CommVault is available on the World Wide Web at www.commvault.com or by calling [phone]. CommVault's corporate headquarters is located in Oceanport, New Jersey in the United States.

CommVault, CommVault Systems, CommVault Galaxy, CommServe StorageManager, MediaAgent, iDataAgent, CommCell and the CommVault logo are trademarks and may be registered trademarks in some jurisdictions of CommVault Systems, Inc.

Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.