News Release
June 6, 2007

Pillar reveals top three environmental data centre pressures
~ research shows lack of floor space and demand for digital data storage driving environmental problems~

Three quarters of all data centres in the UK will have to face up to increasing environmental pressures in the next two years, according to a survey by the National Computing Centre (NCC) and Pillar Data Systems.

36 per cent of respondents say floor capacity will have the biggest impact on data centre and storage resourcing decisions over the next two years. The lack of floor space and an increase in the need for more capacity to store digital data is creating a new set of environmental problems for IT directors and CIOs.

The survey questioned senior IT decision makers in companies with over 500 employees. It showed that demand for data centre floor space will grow by almost 20 per cent in the next two years. This rate of increase means power consumption, with 35 per cent of respondents citing this as their greatest pressure, has been pushed into second place while the cooling burden was the biggest concern of just 29 per cent.

'UK IT departments need to deploy larger capacity storage systems while available floor space disappears and property prices go through the roof. This is a particular problem in London where property prices are the highest in the world,' said Chris Jones, VP of EMEA, Pillar Data Systems.

'Regulation and compliance are forcing companies to store ever more digital data, yet space is running out and companies are under pressure from Government to go green,' said Jones. 'Bigger data centres cost more to power and cool. Companies need to start looking for alternatives in order to keep environmental constraints under control. Tiered storage and higher disk utilisation rates make systems more efficient and smaller.'

'The impact floor capacity, power consumption and the cooling burden will have on data centres in the next two years is set to increase,' said Christine Jack, surveys research manager at the National Computing Centre.

'It's clear that businesses sticking to existing storage practices will struggle to balance data demands with available space and reducing energy consumption. They must demand more from their storage suppliers in order to find a solution that will help deal with data growth but not cost the earth,' Jack concluded.

Notes to Editors

About The National Computing Centre (NCC)
The National Computing Centre (NCC) is the UK's leading independent IT membership organisation, serving corporate, vendor and government communities. We champion the effective deployment of IT to help maximise the competitiveness of our members' businesses. We deliver demonstrable value via a portfolio of distinct membership services, comprising; research, education, accreditation, development, and networking. We influence the evolution of IT in the UK marketplace on behalf of our members. Our focus is on the effective management and use of IT rather than its design, engineering or manufacture. Our role is to develop and promote best practice, standards and professionalism in IT management. We are a social enterprise.

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.. The EMEA headquarters is in Ireland, with initial operations across Ireland, UK, Germany and France.