PRESS RELEASE                                                                

Ovation Data Services Becomes a Strategic Partner for Spinnaker Networks

 Ovation customers get new choice to use next generation NAS technology

to dramatically enhance performance at lower TCO

HOUSTON, TX, April 14, 2003 – Continuing to support its commitment to provide best-of-breed storage solutions for their customers’ differing data access and storage needs, the Data Storage Division (DSD) of Ovation Data Services, Inc. (Ovation), today announced they have become a strategic partner for Spinnaker Networks™, the leading developer of next generation NAS storage solutions. As a SpinPartner, Ovation will resell and integrate Spinnaker’s next generation NAS products, as well as provide Assure Strategic first- and second-level maintenance and support.

            “We are excited to be able to offer Spinnaker’s next generation NAS technology to our customers. Now, we can integrate Spinnaker solutions into our hierarchical storage management (HSM) offerings to give our customers more choices for managing their differing data access and storage needs, and at a lower TCO. From our small to our enterprise customers, we feel this multi-tier, seamless, and flexible architecture offers very compelling advantages in primary and secondary NAS, static file migration, and data replication and management,” said Gerald Johnson, General Manager of Ovation DSD.

            “For the administrator, Spinnaker’s two-stage distributed file system technology gives superior NAS performance; non-disruptive and near-linear scaling capacity; and simpler, centralized management for data sharing among Unix, Linux, and Windows clients. With Spinnaker clustering technology, up to 512 systems can be clustered in one logical name space for up to 11,000 terabyte single-file system capacity. The entire storage environment can be redistributed and load balanced easily and dynamically. For the end user, this means that while data is moved or capacity is scaled, their work is neither interrupted nor delayed, even when they are working with extremely large data sets. For the organization, the Intel-based technology, provides a lower TCO, along with successive improvements in server performance as Intel processor upgrades become available. These immediate and future advantages make Spinnaker the best choice for companies who need highly flexible data access and storage, or who expect growth in online or near-line demand in the future,” said Rich Sanzi, Spinnaker Networks’ Vice President of Software Engineering.

            “We are proud that Ovation DSD has become a strategic partner with Spinnaker Networks. Ovation DSD is committed to finding the best solutions for all of the differing data access and storage needs their customers may have, and Ovation DSD has the expertise and experience to deliver on that commitment,” said Jeff Hornung, Spinnaker Networks’ Vice President of Marketing and Business Development.

            "Spinnaker's entrance [to the NAS market] signals a new era for NAS by providing an innovative approach for solving NAS management, scalability and performance issues," according to Jamie Gruener, Senior Analyst with Yankee Group. "Enterprise customers should strongly consider the Spinnaker SpinServer 3300 in their future NAS vendor evaluations."

Pricing and Availability

            As a strategic partner, Ovation DSD is licensed to resell and integrate Spinnaker-branded products worldwide. Additionally, Ovation DSD will add the Spinnaker products to its on-going first- and second-level support program. Enquiries about Spinnaker-branded products and Ovation DSD services can be emailed to dsd@ovationdata.com.

About the Data Storage Division of Ovation Data Services, Inc.     

            The Data Storage Division of Ovation was founded in 1995, as a result of customer demand for integrated storage solutions. Ovation DSD was a natural progression of storage service offerings based on the skills and experience acquired over many years by Ovation. Today, Ovation DSD provides design, testing, installation and support for integrated storage solutions for customers worldwide. More information about Ovation DSD can be found at www.ovationdata.com/dsd or by email request to dsd@ovationdata.com.

About Ovation Data Services, Inc.

            Founded in 1976, Ovation Data Services, Inc., headquartered in Houston, TX, is a highly regarded world leader in digital data management and preservation, and information technology system solutions. With service and technology centers in the United States and the United Kingdom, Ovation has provided services and solutions for over 1500 companies. These customers count on Ovation daily to help protect and manage their company records and information assets. More information on Ovation Data Services can be found at www.ovationdata.com.

About Spinnaker Networks

            Spinnaker Networks' next generation NAS storage solutions lead the industry in scalability and performance, and are available as complete storage systems and as NAS gateways. The ideal enterprise NAS approach, Spinnaker products include hardware, software and centralized management at the lowest point and highest return on investment to meet the service level needs of today's IT managers. Spinnaker Networks is a privately held company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company has secured $51 million through two series of funding rounds. For more information, visit www.spinnakernet.com.

###

All trademarks are properties of their respective owners.