Atlanta United Way Collaborates With Overland Storage to Implement New Storage Virtualization Strategy

 Overland Storage (NASDAQ: OVRL), the trusted global provider of effortless data management and data protection solutions across the data lifecycle, today announced that United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, the fourth largest United Way branch in the nation, has deployed the Overland SnapSAN S2000 to support nine remote offices and more than 600 end users.

United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta needed an easy-to-manage and cost efficient virtualization solution that could seamlessly operate within multiple Windows environments and run a multitude of campaigns, projects and programs simultaneously.

"Since we're a nonprofit, the money we raise needs to go back to the causes we support. Our IT budget is watched closely -- the focus is always on making the most out of our operating dollars so that we can maximize those resources for community outreach," said Orinzal Williams, executive director of IT for United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta. "We chose to deploy the SnapSAN S2000 because it offers similar features that high-end SAN solutions have without the complexity, giving us more bang for our buck. Because we have a small IT staff, we needed a solution that was simple to set up and manage. With the SnapSAN S2000, we were literally up and running within an hour and a half from the time we got the solution out of the box."

Williams deployed the Overland SnapSAN S2000 as part of the organization's new storage virtualization strategy. By allocating the SnapSAN S2000 to manage the organization's production environment, United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta was able to streamline data management operations and increase the information infrastructure performance without additional training, resources or costs. Optimized for multiple virtualized server environments, the S2000 enabled hundreds of employees to share and store data across nine offices in the Atlanta region.

United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta is currently utilizing the SnapSAN S2000 to store approximately 20 terabytes of shared data (with the ability to expand up to 192 terabytes), of which 85 percent is virtualized. By improving resource utilization and efficiency with their new virtualization strategy, United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta is cutting costs by reducing the need for physical assets, such as server floor space and power. In addition, the organization's new virtualization strategy has enabled it to deploy applications quickly and has helped increase productivity.

"With automated capacity expansion, simple storage management features, disaster recovery features as well as maximized application uptime, the SnapSAN S2000 is an ideal cost-effective virtualization solution for nonprofit organizations with a limited IT staff and budget, such as United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta," said Joe Disher, product solutions manager for Overland Storage. "Built from the ground up for virtualized server environments, with the ability to be easily deployed within existing environments for instant scalability and reliability, the SnapSAN S2000 is a truly effortless data solution for businesses of any size."

In March 2011, the organization was named a finalist for SNW Spring's Best Practices Award in the Virtualization and Cloud Computing category for the implementation of their virtualization strategy with the SnapSAN S2000.

United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta benefits the Atlanta region in four focus areas: education, income, health and ending homelessness. The nonprofit collaborates with more than 200 community partners for impact in more than 350 programs across metro Atlanta.

About Overland Storage Overland Storage is the trusted global provider of effortless data management and data protection solutions across the data lifecycle. By providing an integrated range of technologies and services for primary, nearline, offline, archival, and cloud data storage, Overland makes it easy and cost effective to manage different tiers of information over time. Whether distributed data is across the hall or across the globe, Overland enables companies to focus on building their business instead of worrying about data growth. Overland SnapServer®, SnapSAN®, NEO® and REO® solutions are available through a select network of value added resellers and system integrators. For more information, visit www.overlandstorage.com.

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Media Contact: Elizabeth Zaborowska Bhava Communications [e-mail] 510-219-8127