Pillar Reinvigorates Channel Strategy to Increase Partner Revenue.

Company Introduces New High-Margin Programs; Incents Sales to Involve Partners in Deals

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Pillar Data Systems, the leading provider of Application-Aware storage systems, is reinforcing its commitment to the channel by introducing new programs and offerings more closely aligned with the business models of its partners. Introducing new channel incentives to the Emerald Program, Pillar partners will be able to increase sales and margins across the board. Pillar will continue to offer its customers competitive pricing and unparalleled service.

As proof of its channel commitment, Pillar will minimize numbers of authorized reseller partners per region to mitigate unnecessary competition among registered Pillar partners. Not only does this put its partners in a better position to succeed, it also helps eliminate confusion among customers so they are not spending an inordinate amount of time weighing options from too many sources. As a result, Pillar partners will be able to develop stronger relationships with customers, while guaranteeing that their work throughout the sales process is duly rewarded through front and back end rebates.

All of Pillar's channel partners, including elite members of the Emerald Program, will be able to take advantage of the following:

* Sell and Perform Pillar Professional Services - Pillar's Registered Service Partner program increases margins by enabling its partners' professional services engineers to install and maintain Pillar Axiom equipment.

* Design Registration - This program is designed to protect Pillar's partners and eliminate channel conflict at the end-user level.

* Price Matching - Exclusively through the channel, partners selling Pillar's products will have the ability to match competitive pricing.

* Volume-based Pricing - Pillar partners will receive discounted pricing on a graduated basis, depending on revenue generation.

* Seminar-in-a-box - Designed for use in delivering co-branded lead generation events to joint customers/prospects at seminars, webinars, or any other customer facing opportunity.

* Pillar Partner Portal - A one stop resource for the most current and relevant tools to help partners profitably sell Pillar Axiom systems, including sales tools, marketing resources, customer referrals and technical information.

"Pillar understands that in today's market, it is imperative to clearly demonstrate and deliver added value and ROI. It's the philosophy of mutual success that's at the heart of this channel program," said Brad Painter, Vice President of Worldwide Channel Sales for Pillar Data Systems. "We've always distinguished ourselves with our innovation in technology efficiency, and in order to further set ourselves apart from other storage players, we have directed that innovation towards our partner program. Pillar is committed to the channel and the continued success of our partners."

Pillar is offering additional training and validation opportunities for its partners, as well as assisting them in identifying key sales opportunities to ensure their success in the field. With continuing education in upgrades, new products and technical support, Pillar's goal is to build an alliance with its partners that will ultimately prove lucrative for all parties, while continuing to provide a superior solution with top-notch customer service.

"Pillar is going to great lengths to show its commitment to us as a partner and ensure that we are armed with the necessary tools to be successful in today's market," said Jim Steinlage, President of Choice Solutions. "Many other vendors look at their channel partners as a means to generate more revenue for themselves, but Pillar is clearly striving for the ideal partnership - one where both sides win. We're really excited about joining the Pillar team and even more excited about making 2009 a lucrative year."

The Pillar Axiom is the only storage platform to differentiate performance based on application priority. The system allows administrators to match multiple application characteristics to the appropriate service levels within a single storage platform. With up to 80 percent disk utilization guaranteed and 99.999 percent availability, the Axiom supports the changing demands of the data center and delivers the absolute highest levels of storage efficiency.

About Pillar Data Systems

Founded in 2001, Pillar Data Systems develops Application-aware Storage systems for midsize and enterprise organizations. With the highest utilization rates in the storage industry, the Pillar Axiom solution is the most efficient storage system on the market today. The Pillar Axiom cuts administrative time and total cost of ownership by more than 50 percent as well as provides the only storage system that can differentiate services based on application priority. Designed from the ground up as the only true Application-aware Storage system, the Pillar Axiom allows users to match multiple application characteristics to the appropriate service levels within a single storage platform. Pillar Data Systems is privately funded by Tako Ventures, LLC, the venture arm of Larry Ellison. The company is headquartered at 2840 Junction Avenue, San Jose, California 95134. The company can be reached on the Web at http://www.pillardata.com, by phone at 408-503-4000 or by email at [e-mail].