StarWind Software Announces Spin-off from Rocket Division Inc., Secures First Round of Investment Funding

Burlington, Mass., February 3, 2009 – StarWind Software Inc., a provider of iSCSI SAN and Storage Virtualization software, today announced their spin-off from Rocket Division Inc. and their first round of investor funding, led by ABRT Venture Fund. Rocket Division, a leader in storage solutions for the consumer and corporate markets will continue to serve the consumer market, while StarWind Software will be dedicated to developing storage software for small and midsize companies.

StarWind will expand their product offering capabilities, with a strong commitment to small and midsize companies, and will become an independent developer of StarWind product lines including iSCSI SAN (Storage Area Network) software solutions that have enterprise-class performance, reliability and manageability while still being affordable to SMBs. While StarWind products have been available globally via online sales, the investment by ABRT Venture Fund will help accelerate the company's growth by hiring a new management team that will expand sales, channel distribution and marketing efforts.

Currently, their flagship product StarWind Server, a fourth generation iSCSI SAN software solution, installs on any Windows server and converts it into a scalable, reliable, high-performance SAN. It runs on existing, industry-standard infrastructure without the need for proprietary networking or storage systems. StarWind Server software will offer SMBs a cost-effective and very affordable SAN solution that protects data against failures.
“Based on their storage industry domain expertise and positive customer feedback, we feel that StarWind will be in a unique position to be a global leader in iSCSI SAN and Storage Virtualization markets,” said Ratmir Timashev, a General Partner at ABRT Venture Fund.  “StarWind solutions are ideally positioned to benefit from the significant growth trends in server virtualization in the SMB market with VMware ESX and ESXi as well as with Microsoft Hyper-V.”

StarWind Server will be an excellent iSCSI SAN solution to implement within virtualized environments with VMware ESX and VMware ESXi or Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V as well as with Microsoft Windows Server failover cluster environments with applications such as Oracle, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange Server. 

For additional information regarding StarWind Software or StarWind ISCSI Target, please visit www.StarWindSoftware.com.

About StarWind Software
StarWind is a global provider and a technology leader in reliable, scalable, high-performance and easy-to-use Windows iSCSI SAN storage software.  StarWind Server is a software solution that converts any Windows server into a high-performance iSCSI SAN and is specifically designed for use with VMware ESX and VMware ESXi, Citrix XenServer, Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 and Microsoft Windows Server clusters with database applications such as Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SharePoint Server. StarWind is an ideal, affordable SAN solution and combines an ease of use with enterprise-class features such as Mirroring and Replication, CDP and Snapshots, Thin Provisioning and Virtual Tape Library (VTL).  Since 2003, StarWind iSCSI Target has been the solution of choice for thousands of customers in over 50 countries, from small and mid-size businesses, to governments, to the Fortune 1000 clients. More information is available by contacting StarWind Software at info@starwindsoftware.com.

About ABRT Venture Fund
ABRT is an international venture capital and private equity fund focused on startup and expansion stage investments as well as buyouts of high-growth software, internet and technology-enabled companies. ABRT is highly selective and deeply analytical in making investments, with an emphasis on business fundamentals, financial performance and operating strategy. With a team-oriented approach and a strong operating expertise, ABRT has been committed to helping its portfolio companies become global market leaders since 2005.


StarWind Software and the StarWind logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of StarWind Software Inc. or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.


Media Contact:
StarWind Software Inc.
1-617- 449-7717
media@starwindsoftware.com