Sun Microsystems and Imation to Collaborate on Storage Technologies

SANTA CLARA, Calif. and OAKDALE, Minn., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. and Imation Corp today announced a Strategic Agreement related to current and future storage products. Highlights of the agreement include the following:

-- Sun and Imation will work toward the development and launch of an extension to the existing Sun StorageTek(TM) T9840 drive platform. -- Imation becomes an approved supplier to Sun StorageTek for branded LTO-2 and LTO-3 tape cartridges. -- Sun and Imation will investigate alternative recording media technologies, including Imation's Ulysses (TM) technology, for potential future integration into Sun's automated tape library product line.

"Sun is pleased to work with Imation which has a long history of technology development and innovation in removable storage media and is a recognized industry leader," said Nigel Dessau, VP/GM Tape Business Unit -- Data Management Group, Sun Microsystems. "Together, we are committed to delivering storage products that meet the evolving needs of our customers."

"Imation is very pleased to announce this collaboration with Sun Microsystems as an important step in our evolving relationship. We have a long history of working with StorageTek, now a subsidiary of Sun, in the development of advanced tape cartridges and we are committed to continue that history of cooperation for the benefit of both companies and our mutual customers," said Frank Russomanno, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Imation.

Additional information about product development and launch will be released when specific products are announced.

About the Sun Microsystems/Imation Relationship

Sun and Imation have had a long standing relationship as customer and supplier which grew closer recently, when Sun completed the acquisition of one of Imation's major OEM (original equipment manufacturer) partners, StorageTek. Imation was the development partner for enterprise tape cartridges used with StorageTek T9840 and T9940 tape drives. Recently, the companies announced that Sun selected Imation as a media manufacturer for the new Sun StorageTek T10000 tape drive. Imation developed the T10000 media for scale-up at its advanced tape manufacturing facility in Weatherford, Oklahoma, the world's first terabyte-class tape facility built specifically for the development of next- generation tape products.

Imation utilizes its Tera Angstrom(TM) technology, a proprietary coating formulation and process enabling a terabyte-capacity tape product, to develop next generation tape media, including the T10000 and LTO-3 tape products supplied to Sun. Imation also has a patented Precision-Tracking "N Pattern" Servo Writing technology, an ultra-precise reference pattern enabling nanometer-level tracking accuracy, which has been licensed by Sun for use in all T10000 tape cartridges.

About Imation's Data Storage Media Expertise

Imation Corp is a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of magnetic, optical, USB flash and removable hard disk data storage media. From its origins as 3M's Data Storage Division to today, Imation has been a worldwide leader in magnetic tape technology for more than 50 years with the introduction of the first data storage tape in 1953. Today, Imation continues to be the leader of magnetic technology, offering the broadest portfolio of removable data storage products across all market segments, from computers, consumer electronics and small businesses to products for servers, storage networks and enterprise systems.

Imation's technology portfolio includes more than 360 U.S. patents covering magnetic, optical and related technologies primarily focused on development and manufacture of data storage-related products. Imation's Ulysses technology -- the first disk-enhanced removable tape cartridge -- was developed to radically accelerate tape automation by integrating a hard disk drive (HDD) into a standard tape cartridge form factor for deployment in any tape library environment. The new technology addresses the needs of tape users looking for a disk-to-disk-to-tape (D2D2T) solution to improve restore time without having to adopt a complex new system or invest in hardware or software modifications. A Ulysses-equipped library can restore files up to 10 times faster than a tape-only library.

Additional information about Imation is available on the Company's website at http://www.imation.com/.

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.

A singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer" -- guides Sun in the development of technologies that power the world's most important markets. Sun's philosophy of sharing innovation and building communities is at the forefront of the next wave of computing: the Participation Age. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at http://sun.com/ .

CONTACT: Stacey Infantino Sun Microsystems, Inc. +1-650-786-3115 stacey.infantino@sun.com Mary Rawlings-Taylor Imation Corp. +1-651-704-6796 mjrawlings-taylor@imation.com

NOTE: Imation, the Imation logo, Tera Angstrom and Ulysses are trademarks of Imation Corp.

Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, StorageTek, and The Network Is The Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.