MaxOptix Sponsors USA Pavilion at CeBIT.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 14, 2001

MaxOptix Corp., a technology leader in secondary storage solutions, today announced that it is sponsoring the USA Software, Internet & E-Commerce Pavilion at the CeBIT show in Hannover, Germany, March 22-28.

MaxOptix will also be exhibiting its industry-leading storage solutions, including Magneto Optical drives, DVD-RAM jukeboxes and tape library products, as well as unveiling its innovative tape RAID appliance, the StreamIT(TM), at Hall 6, USA pavilion F20, Booth F13/14.

CeBIT 2001 is a leading international showcase for information and telecommunications technology, featuring a record 8,015 exhibiting companies from more than 60 countries. The USA pavilion features special American group exhibits that showcase manufacturers and service providers by product sector.

"Our sponsorship of the USA pavilion at CeBIT reflects our commitment to providing world-class storage solutions to a worldwide marketplace," said Fred Bedard, senior vice president of sales and marketing at MaxOptix.

"Participating at CeBIT offers us the chance to demonstrate our latest products and to build important business relationships at one of the most prestigious international IT trade shows of the year. We are pleased to have the opportunity to showcase our industry-leading storage solutions technologies, such as our new StreamIT tape RAID appliance," Bedard added.

StreamIT, the first tape appliance that meets the performance and reliability demands of Storage Area Network (SAN)-based serverless backup applications, will be featured at MaxOptix's booth, marking one of the first public performances of the innovative storage solution.

Combining a fault-tolerant chassis design with its PowerStream(TM) RAID controller for removable storage and Sony's robust AIT-2 drive technology, StreamIT is a unique and cost-effective, leading-edge solution that meets the most demanding data management requirements for ultra-reliable enterprise storage.

The "plug and play" StreamIT meets an increasing market demand for higher-performance solutions, with outstanding performance boasting transfer rates of more than 2,200 MB per minute -- or more than 130 GB per hour -- with up to 400 GB of capacity.

Also being shown at CeBIT is the MaxOptix optical jukebox family, which includes five different models allowing for 19 configurations, ranging from 104 GB to 1.45 TB of storage.

The high-performance, high-reliability, cost-effective series of storage solutions allows for near-line access to vast amounts of data, making MaxOptix jukeboxes perfect for data-intensive applications, including document imaging, data archiving, network mass storage, graphics and engineering. The MaxOptix DVD 520, the industry's first low-cost DVD-RAM jukebox with removable cartridged media, will also be at the booth.

The DVD 520 is compact -- small enough to fit under a desk -- and with cartridged double-sided DVD-RAM media, the media is never touched by human hands, so the disk remains free of fingerprints and other contaminants. It is available with one or two drives. All models feature a flipping mechanism for accessing both sides of the discs.

MaxOptix multi-purpose Magneto Optical drives will also be demonstrated. They allow for support of today's extensive requirements for data-intensive applications and will be the platform for tomorrow's higher-capacity requirements. Optimized for performance, reliability and capacity, the MaxOptix drives serve as the foundations for companies' removable storage options.

About MaxOptix

Incorporated in 1989, MaxOptix is the technology leader in the high-performance segment of the secondary data storage industry with several key patents in the field of optical recording. MaxOptix serves a global customer base from its U.S. headquarters in Fremont, Calif., and European headquarters in Surrey, England.

During the last 18 months, MaxOptix has raised $30 million -- through private placements with venture capital groups and individuals -- for the development and launch of its OSD product line.

Smart Technology Ventures III, the lead investor in the company, is a $175 million SBIC venture fund located in Southern California whose mission is to help create next-generation companies whose products store, transport, manage and process the information that powers the new economy.

In December 2000, MaxOptix acquired Boulder, Colo.-based Breece Hill Technologies, an established supplier of entry-level through enterprise-class automated tape loaders and libraries with an installed base of more than 14,000 libraries.

MaxOptix may be contacted at 3342 Gateway Blvd., Fremont, Calif., 94538. Phone: [phone] and 800/848-3092. Fax: [phone]. In Europe, contact MaxOptix Europe Ltd.; Park House, 127 Guildford Rd., Lightwater, Surrey, England, GU185RA. Phone: [phone]. Fax: [phone]. Or, visit the company's Web site at: www.maxoptix.com.