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Exhibit 99.2
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TRICORD UNVEILS ILLUMINA AGGREGATION SOFTWARE AND BUSINESS ROADMAP
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - (DEC 11, 2000) - Tricord Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRCD),
announces the introduction of its groundbreaking Illumina(TM) aggregation
software, to be unveiled during a live webcast at 12:00 P.M. EST today. This
radical new technology is the backbone of Tricord's family of innovative server
appliances being developed for content-hungry applications. Tricord will
also partner with vendors building the next generation of specialized
application and content appliances.
Spanned across multiple server appliances, Illumina software aggregates the
devices to create a cluster that is managed as a single resource. Illumina-
enabled testing appliances are literally plug-and-play, offering seamless,
virtually unlimited growth and continuous access to content without downtime.
The first appliance featuring this technology, Lunar Flare(TM) NAS, also will be
introduced today, with details available in a separate announcement. A general
file serving appliance designed to meet the needs of growing organizations,
workgroups, corporate departments and e-businesses, Lunar Flare NAS is currently
in beta testing, with general availability planned for the second half of
Q1, 2001. The product will be distributed through select channel partners and
also sold directly through Tricord.
The Company intends to leverage Illumina software to develop storage appliances
for applications such as email, database and multimedia. Tricord also plans to
utilize Illumina to develop integrated server appliances such as web servers,
backup servers, web cache, and content distribution - and is actively forging
relationships with partners who are currently developing or who already provide
appliance solutions that would benefit from the inherent advantages of
aggregation.
"Illumina effectively removes the barriers to creating true clustered server
appliances," says Joan Wrabetz, Tricord president and CEO. "Tricord is committed
to making aggregation the architecture of choice for all content-hungry server
appliances."
Because of the inherent fault tolerant properties of the software, appliance
aggregation with Illumina provides a high value-add solution at a comparatively
low cost. It is not necessary to
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build expensive hardware redundancies into an Illumina-enabled appliance - the
end result being a high level of fault tolerance at an affordable price.
INNOVATIVE BUSINESS MODEL
Tricord is committed to an innovative, customer- friendly business model -
including a `try before you buy' program that makes it risk-free for
organizations to see for themselves the benefits of aggregated appliances.
Another tremendous advantage of aggregation is the ability for companies to `pay
as they grow'. Network managers are currently forced to make a choice between
the significant management headaches of adding storage incrementally, or buying
an expensive, high-end solution. With Tricord's technology, administrators can
add appliances as needed eliminating the need to buy more capacity than is
immediately required.
For more information on Illumina, visit www.tricord.com.
ABOUT TRICORD
Tricord Systems, Inc. designs, develops and markets innovative server appliances
for content-hungry applications. The core of Tricord's revolutionary new
technology is its patented Illumina(TM) software that aggregates multiple
appliances into a cluster, managed as a single resource. Radically easy to
deploy, manage and grow, Tricord's products allow users to add capacity to a
cluster with minimal administration. Appliances are literally plug-and-play,
offering seamless growth and continuous access to content with no downtime. The
technology is ideally suited for applications including general file serving,
web serving, email and caching.
Founded in 1987, Tricord is based in Minneapolis, MN with offices in Colorado,
California and Georgia. For more information, visit www.tricord.com.
"Safe-Harbor" Statement Under Private Securities Act of 1995: The statements
contained herein that are not historical facts contain forward-looking
information with respect to plans, projections or future performance of the
Company. There is no guarantee or assurance that these plans, projections or
future performance of the Company as indicated will be achieved, and actual
results could differ materially. Factors, certain risks and uncertainties that
could impact the Company's future results include, without limitation, the
ability of the Company to complete development and release commercially its
server appliance products, the ability to enter into partner relationships or
otherwise develop distribution capabilities, the market acceptance of
Tricord-enabled products, the ability of the Company to protect and enforce its
intellectual property rights, the ability of the Company to raise additional
capital and to maintain its cost structure in accordance with its operating
plan, and other risks and uncertainties detailed in the Company's filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to
update any forward-looking information.
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For more information, please contact:
Elizabeth Hersey, Tricord Systems, Inc., Minneapolis
763-551-6609
or
Matt Harris, JWT Specialized Communications
314-432-6300
