Acronis, Tech Data U.S. Sign Distribution Agreement

May 23, 2006, Burlington, MA — Acronis, Inc., the technological leader in storage management software, announced a strategic distribution agreement with Tech Data Corporation to extend access of Acronis' corporate family of disaster recovery and disk management software to Fortune 500 and small — to midsize businesses (SMBs). Acronis will leverage the Tech Data's extensive logistics expertise, innovative marketing resources and broad customer base to drive sales of its corporate Acronis True Image, Acronis Disk Director Server and Acronis Privacy Expert Corporate products.

As part of the distribution agreement, Acronis and Tech Data will dedicate staff and marketing resources to ensure a successful collaboration on support for new resellers.

"This agreement provides Acronis with a strategic new avenue for increasing our profile among enterprise-class resellers and to systems integrators," said Walter Scott, CEO of Acronis. "We understand that one of the keys to success in the enterprise and SMB marketplaces lies in building strong relationships and strategic partnerships throughout the channel. Tech Data has an exceptional track record of helping vendors successfully engage resellers of all sizes. This agreement enables us to reach a diverse group of solution providers and broaden our presence in the enterprise space."

"The addition of Acronis provides resellers with increased flexibility as they capitalize on the rising demand for storage virtualization solutions," said Tamra Muir, Tech Data's vice president, Software Product Marketing.

"Business critical functions like data backup and the continual rise in digital document retention are straining storage resources for many companies. Virtualization enables resellers to present their end-user customers with a cost-effective and efficient means of maximizing the availability of all their network-attached storage assets."

"This agreement could not come at a better time," added Eric Dougherty, director of channel sales at Acronis. "The storage industry is booming, particularly disk-based storage, and with increased storage there is an increased risk of data being lost or corrupted. Last year International Data Corp. called 2006 a 'watershed year for the SMB storage market.'

IDC says the growth of local area networks and broadband are driving this growth for SMBs to what IDC called 'unprecedented levels,' but it's not the SMBs alone that are spending significantly more on storage hardware and software. Acronis, like IDC, is seeing growth at all levels as new technologies dramatically increase the amount of data companies generate and process."

"The foundation is in place for continued growth within the storage industry for the next several years," said Dave Reinsel, director, storage research at IDC. "The major pillars underpinning our growth outlook include virtualization strategies for storage and servers, compliance with numerous regulations worldwide, and the continued evolution of cost-optimized, easy-to-manage tiered storage environments." (IDC, U.S. SMB Storage 2006: The Move to More Advanced Storage Features. March 2006, IDC #34894.)