Initiative Includes ADIC, Compaq, Cybernetics, Matsushita Media Group, Qualstar, Seagate Technology, Seagate Software, Spectra Logic

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 19, 1999 — Sony Electronics today announced the formation of the Advanced Intelligent Tape (AIT) Forum, an industry consortium of hardware and software companies dedicated to advancing the art of data storage and protection through the widespread adoption of Sony's AIT drive and format technology as an industry standard.

Participants in the inaugural meeting of the AIT Forum included ADIC, Compaq, Cybernetics, Matsushita Media Group, Qualstar, Seagate Technology, Seagate Software, Spectra Logic, and Sony Electronics' recording media and tape streamer groups.

"The AIT forum lays the ground work for greater industry support for the AIT tape format," said Bob Amatruda, senior analyst, International Data Corporation. "Bringing together tape automation, media and component manufacturers will provide a basis for future innovation and help to bring the AIT tape format mainstream."

"The founding members of the Forum provide a strong core of AIT industry leadership and expertise on which to build the next generation of tape storage solutions," said Steve Baker, general manager, AIT Products & Tape Streamer Strategy, Sony Corporation, Japan. "There is a tremendous need for an industry-wide effort to establish new standards of excellence in tape storage technology. The AIT Forum is an important step in that direction."

Convened by Sony to stimulate cooperation and innovation among AIT resellers, original equipment manufacturers, and solution developers in the data storage industry, last month's inaugural meeting in Denver attracted more than 40 representatives from 11 companies. Attendees volunteered to serve on several technical work groups and to cooperate on a variety of marketing and standardization efforts.

"The AIT Forum represents an innovative group of companies delivering AIT-based solutions to customers across a broad range of industries," said John Woelbern, senior marketing manager of Tape Streamer Products for Sony Electronics' Component Company. "We intend to leverage the tremendous skills and resources of this cooperative to stimulate continued performance breakthroughs to meet the accelerating data storage demands of end-users everywhere."

Formation of the industry consortium this spring also coincides with the availability of Sony's second generation AIT format, named AIT-2. The system offers 50GB of native capacity per tape and a 6MB/sec sustained native transfer rate and new capabilities for AIT's innovative Memory-in-Cassette (MIC) architecture. Forum members will have the opportunity to impact the use of MIC for enhanced data access and retrieval and guide the implementation of the AIT product roadmap.

Contacts
Jim Leal
Sony Electronics
(408) 955-4469
jim_leal@mail.sel.sony.com

Pat Kelly
Mueller/Shields
(415) 487-7132
pkelly@muellershields.com