Toshihiko Tamiya, Division President of Hitachi, Ltd.'s Data Storage & Retrieval Systems Division (STR), and SGI's Chairman and CEO Bob Bishop (pictured at left), shake hands after formally signing a global reseller agreement for enterprise storage.

23 June 2000, Santa Clara, California — Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), in conjunction with its global subsidiary, Hitachi Data Systems, today announced a global reseller agreement with SGI (NYSE: SGI), for high-end, multi-platform enterprise storage subsystems.

Under the terms of the three-year agreement, SGI is licensed to resell current Hitachi Data Systems' high-end, multi-platform, enterprise-class disk arrays, as well as future high-end storage solutions.

Hitachi high-end disk arrays fully support SGI's market-leading IRIX™ computing solutions.

Also under the agreement, SGI will resell Hitachi's storage management applications to enable local and remote data mirroring, interoperating system data transfers, and centralized array management.

"This agreement re-validates the legitimacy and potential viability of Hitachi Data Systems," said John McArthur, Vice President of Storage Research at IDC. "Hitachi high-end storage subsystems will allow SGI to meet customer demands for high-performance storage solutions in heterogeneous environments. This agreement provides Hitachi Data Systems access to a new market outside the focus of the company's direct sales force. This should be a win for both companies."

"Hitachi Freedom Storage subsystems continue to be the storage platforms by which the industry measures its progress," said Clive James, General Manager, Hitachi Data Systems. "SGI's selection of Hitachi disk arrays is a significant accomplishment for both Hitachi's reseller strategy and a strong endorsement of Hitachi's high-end array technology products."

SGI's systems, ranging from desktop workstations and servers to the most powerful supercomputers in the world, deliver advanced computing and 3D visualization capabilities to scientific, engineering, and creative professionals and large enterprises. In addition, SGI creates innovative software for design, Internet, and entertainment applications. SGI provides solutions in several key industries, including manufacturing, government, entertainment, communications, energy, the sciences, and education. Headquartered in Mountain View, California with offices worldwide, the company is located on the Web at www.sgi.com

Committed to helping customers exploit the value of information technology for success in the Internet economy, Hitachi Data Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT), is a leading provider of business solutions for the world's most information-intensive corporations. For further information on Hitachi Data Systems, access www.hds.com.

Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 2000 (ended March 31, 2001) consolidated sales of 8,417 billion yen ($67.9 billion) The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment. For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., please visit Hitachi's Web site at www.hitachi.com

1 At an exchange rate of 106 yen to the dollar.

Contacts: PR
Jodi Reinman, Hitachi Data Systems, (408) 970.1050, jodi.reinman@hds.com

Hitachi Data Systems: Steven Zivanic, (408) 829-8865, steven.zivanic@hds.com 

Hitachi, Ltd. and Hitachi America, Ltd. Gerard Corbett, (650) 888-8723, gerard.corbett@hal.hitachi.com 

Terry Kubo, (650) 244-7902, tatsuya.kubo@hal.hitachi.com 

SGI: Lisa Pistacchio, (650) 933-5683, or pistachio@sgi.com

Hitachi Data Systems is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark and service mark of Hitachi, Ltd. Freedom Storage is a trademark of Hitachi Data Systems. SGI is a trademark and IRIX is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.