IBM 1 in Worldwide Branded Tape Revenue for 2006

 IDC, a leading IT market research and advisory firm, reported today that for Q4'06 and for the Full Calendar Year 2006, IBM (NYSE: IBM) was once again the number one tape product vendor in the world, based on branded factory revenue (1). This latest report from IDC marks the 11th consecutive quarter that IBM has held the number-one position in worldwide branded total tape revenue.

The report -- IDC Worldwide Branded Tape Marketshare Report 2006 -- indicated that for the fourth quarter of 2006, IBM grew total tape revenue worldwide 5 percent quarter to quarter to close the full year capturing 33 percent market-share overall.

Comparing 2005 to 2006 full calendar year results, IBM increased its market share for worldwide branded tape revenue nearly 5 percent, moving from 28.5 percent market-share in 2005 to 33 percent market-share.

"IBM has a legacy of innovation and leadership in tape storage, having created the technology and launched the market over 50 years ago," said Cindy Grossman, Vice President, IBM Tape Storage Solutions. "Much of the world's corporate data is stored on tape, and its importance continues to escalate as corporations today are storing ever-increasing amounts of data to manage their businesses and to address compliance requirements. IBM continues to introduce innovative tape storage products, from midrange to enterprise to tape virtualization, offering greater data density and capacity."

Additional highlights include:

• IBM holding the number one position for the full year 2006 in total tape drive revenue (34 percent of the total market);
• IBM holding the number one position for the full year 2006 in total tape automation revenue (27 percent of the total market) -- including capturing 36 percent of the market for the fourth quarter of 2006;
• IBM holding the top position in enterprise tape revenue for the full year 2006 (62 percent of the total market).

IBM's Tape Leadership

IBM is the leader in Tape Storage products and development. In 2006, IBM Research announced a new world record, packing data onto a test tape at a density of 6.67 billion bits per square inch, more than 15 times the data density of today's most popular industry standard magnetic tape products.

In 2006, IBM also announced many innovations in tape storage technology, including the IBM System Storage TS1120 Tape Drive, a first-of-its-kind native encryption technology that delivered the world's first enterprise-class solutions for securing consumer and corporate data privacy; the System Storage 3599, the first tape media in the world to feature 700 GB physical capacity; the System Storage TS7700 Virtualization Engine, a virtual-tape offering designed to improve tape processing while also supporting business continuity through Grid connectivity and automated replication; the IBM System Storage TS3400 Tape Library, the world's first tape library solution offering enterprise-class tape drive based encryption capabilities at an affordable price point for midrange corporations and enterprise workgroups; and a world record in data density on linear magnetic tape.

Additionally, in March of 2007, at CeBIT, the iF International Forum Design awarded IBM eight product design awards for superior storage products and solutions, including the IBM System Storage TS3400 Tape Library, and the IBM System Storage TS3310 Tape Library, which was honored with the "Gold" award.

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