March 30, 2006

Pillar Data Systems selects Ireland for EMEA headquarters
~ IDA Ireland support provides expanding data storage company with platform for growth ~

Pillar Data Systems, a leading provider of enterprise network storage systems, confirmed today that it is establishing its EMEA headquarters in Ireland. The office, in Drogheda, will provide all the infrastructure and support for sales offices across the region, initially in the UK, France and Germany.

With support from IDA Ireland, the Irish Government’s investment and development agency agreed, the company has grown rapidly since the EMEA launch in October, 2005. It now has a team of 60 working in the region.

“IDA Ireland has recognised Pillar’s potential and offered its full support,” said Mike Workman, President and CEO of Pillar Data Systems. “We are extremely pleased with Pillar’s unprecedented growth rates in the data storage market. Following deals signed with Insight Investment and Attenda in the UK, as well as LeapFrog and I/PRO, in the United States, there is a huge opportunity in EMEA for us to continue to expand. Ireland offers us the right platform to grow quickly and competitively, and Drogheda is a natural choice for a rapidly expanding technology company.”

The Irish Government’s Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin TD said “This investment was aggressively fought for by Drogheda against strong competition from other global locations. Pillar Data Systems can be confident of finding highly skilled IT professionals and infrastructure of international standards in this part of Ireland. More and more high technology companies are discovering the benefits of locating in the smaller towns throughout Ireland and Pillar Data Systems is a perfect example of the type of company we want to attract.”

The brainchild of ex-IBM storage guru Mike Workman, Pillar Data Systems has grown to more than 500 employees since it was set up just four years ago. Major investment has come from Tako Ventures, LLC, the private equity firm of Larry Ellison, which has backed Pillar with more than $200 million..

The Drogheda office is now fully operational and set for continued growth in 2006, with Pat Clarke heading up Pillar’s EMEA operations.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Pillar Data Systems
Founded in 2001, Pillar Data Systems develops enterprise network storage systems. The company’s Pillar Axiom solution, driven by its innovative policy-based management capabilities, integrates SAN and NAS into a centrally managed storage platform. Pillar Axiom systems consolidate multiple tiers of enterprise network storage into a single, easily managed system capable of scaling to hundreds of terabytes of capacity.

Pillar Data Systems is privately funded by Tako Ventures, LLC, the venture arm of Larry Ellison. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California with a development office in Longmont, Colorado. The EMEA headquarters is in Drogheda near Dublin, with initial operations across Ireland, UK, Germany and France.

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