STEC Stec, Inc. (MM)

STEC, Inc. (Nasdaq:STEC), a leading global provider of solid-state drive (SSD) technologies and products, today announced the Linux driver for its PCI Express (PCIe)-based SSDs is now open-source and that the company will showcase its latest SSD solutions at SNW Europe at the Congress Center in Frankfurt, Germany, October 30-31. In the STEC booth (#112), the company will display the high-performance s1120 PCIe Accelerator SSD card, coupled with the new open-source Linux driver that dramatically broadens the range of applications for the s1120. (Oracle application performance, for example, can be boosted to more than 160,000 transactions per minute through the s1120 and Linux-driver combination.) STEC will also feature its EnhanceIO™ SSD Cache Software, version 1.1, which provides a very cost-effective way to boost application performance.

s1120 PCIe Accelerator Driving Powerful New SSD Storage Applications in Europe

European storage-systems providers have realized tremendous performance gains through adding SSDs, such as STEC's s1120 PCIe Accelerators, to their solutions and see the tremendous value in having open-source Linux drivers.

"We have witnessed very promising performance results never seen before, where we achieved 40 frames per second using 2K resolution when testing an STEC s1120 PCIe Accelerator with DJV Imaging -- a high-end professional movie playback software for film production, visual effects and computer animation," said Boris Zen, CEO of Progiss, the leading system integrator in the media and entertainment market segment in France. "The solution was tested on an HP Z600 workstation and we are now working with STEC to explore bringing to market various solution offerings where one or more s1120 PCIe accelerators will be used per system, thus delivering even higher performance levels for our customers."

"STEC s1120 PCIe Accelerators are solid performers," said Florian Hettenbach, product manager for storage and virtualization at Thomas Krenn AG, a leading systems integrator in Germany. "With its cut-through architecture using a single, integrated ASIC-based native PCIe controller, STEC delivers a solution that eliminates host tax on CPUs and memory, as well as SAS/SATA protocol from the data path that other PCIe solutions in the market are burdened with. The simple open-source driver model is exactly the solution we have been looking for in a PCIe-based SSD. The s1120 now enables us to deploy PCIe-based flash across a large array of applications."

STEC Presentation

Kim Gardner, senior director of EMEA sales for STEC's Systems and Software Group, will deliver a presentation on Wednesday, October 31, at 11:20 a.m. CET on the key requirements needed to support SSD storage in critical application environments. During this presentation, titled "Enterprise Ready SSD Technology and Solutions – the difference that makes the difference," Gardner will explore what makes an enterprise-ready solution and discuss the potential future direction of SSD technologies.

"Organizations are demanding fast access to data, but application response time is holding them back," said Gardner. "Deploying STEC's EnhanceIO SSD Cache Software in combination with STEC PCIe Accelerators – and, in Linux environments, our new open-source driver -- enables high-transaction volumes at the lowest possible latencies and enables the high-performing applications end-users are demanding."

Session:	"Enterprise Ready SSD Technology and Solutions - The difference that makes the difference."
Speaker:	Kim Gardner, Senior Director, EMEA Sales, Systems and Software Group
Date:	Wednesday, 31 October
Time:	11:20 a.m. – 11:40 a.m. CET
Location:	Harmonie A

STEC Demos

STEC PCIe Accelerators with open-source Linux driver

• Process more transactions per second
• Improve application response times by maximizing I/Os per second (IOPS) on a single server     
• Lower total cost of ownership by reducing data center operational and capital expenditure

STEC EnhanceIO SSD Cache Software version 1.1

• Provides simple, flexible caching solution     
• Boosts application performance        
• Cost-effectively scales while optimizing SSD usage
• Enables seamless IT environment integration

To register for, SNW Europe, go here.

Follow STEC at the IP Expo via Twitter: @STEC_INC

Share this story: @snweurope2012 to see the latest #STEC SSD innovations.

About STEC, Inc.

STEC, Inc. is a leading global provider of enterprise-class solid-state drive (SSD) technologies and solutions tailored to meet the high-performance, high-reliability and high-endurance needs of today's data-intensive server and storage platforms. With headquarters in Santa Ana, California, and locations worldwide, STEC leverages almost two decades of solid-state knowledge and experience to design, manufacture and deliver the most comprehensive line of PCIe, SAS, SATA, and embedded SSDs on the market today. In addition, STEC's EnhanceIO SSD Cache Software enables IT managers to cost-effectively scale server application performance. For more information, please visit www.stec-inc.com.

STEC, the STEC logo and EnhanceIO are either registered trademarks or trademarks of STEC, Inc. in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks or brand names referred to herein are the property of their respective owners.

The STEC, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1079

Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including those statements concerning customer adoption and utilization of STEC's s1120 PCIe Accelerator, EnhanceIO, open-source Linux driver for PCIe SSDs and other SSD solutions into new applications and markets; the benefits, capabilities, performance and cost savings from the adoption and utilization of STEC's s1120 PCIe Accelerator, EnhanceIO, open-source Linux driver and other SSD solutions; and the overall evolving enterprise storage and server markets. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including factors that could delay, divert or change any of them, and cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from current expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements are detailed in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission made from time to time by STEC, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and its Current Reports on Form 8-K. The information contained in this press release is a statement of STEC's present intentions, beliefs or expectations. STEC may change its intentions, beliefs or expectations, at any time and without notice, based upon any changes in such factors, in STEC's assumptions or otherwise. STEC undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date thereof, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

CONTACT: Jerry Steach
         Director, Public Relations
         STEC, Inc.
         (415) 222-9996
         jsteach@stec-inc.com
         
         Kim Gardner
         EMEA Director of Sales, Systems & Software Group
         STEC, Inc.
         +49.160.94878794
         kgardner@stec-inc.com