EMC Ships Landmark 2,000th Symmetrix Remote Data Facility Software License

WORLDSPAN Protects Delta Air Lines' Reservations Data Against System Outages

HOPKINTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 16, 1997-

EMC Corporation announced today that WORLDSPAN L.P. has purchased the 2,0000th license of EMC's Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF) business continuance software. EMC's Symmetrix Enterprise Storage systems handle storage requirements for more than 90% of the world's major reservations systems. SRDF enables EMC Symmetrix customers to maintain a duplicate copy of all or some of their data. Data from a primary Symmetrix system is "mirrored" to a secondary Symmetrix located in the next building or across long distances. In the event of a planned or unplanned interruption at the primary site, the data needed for continuous operation is available at the secondary site.

WORLDSPAN selected SRDF to protect critical data for Delta Air Lines' Reservations System and ensure continuous business operation in the event of planned or unplanned system outages. Worldspan has implemented SRDF to meet Delta's objective to rapidly restore the entire Reservations System to unrestricted operation after a catastrophic event.

Bill MacKorell, WORLDSPAN's Director of Communications Operations and Planning, said, "In the airline business, there's no line of distinction between reservations and revenue. And with Delta, we're processing a few hundred thousand reservations every day. Even if we had to vacate our primary data center at this minute, we would have Delta back up and making reservations with minimal or no impact to the business."

Phil Payne, Principal, Isham Research, noted, "Business continuance is no longer optional. Customers have more access to choice than ever before and, as evidenced by the Internet, can be lost in minutes if suppliers are unable to respond. In a remarkably short time, EMC's SRDF has become the industry benchmark for corporate data protection in complex environments. No other vendor has such a comprehensive multi-platform solution.

Jack Egan, EMC's Executive Vice President of Products and Offerings, commented, "WORLDSPAN has emerged as a premier player in the airline reservations industry and a world-class user of information technology. This announcement highlights the strategic importance WORLDSPAN and Delta place on corporate data protection and points to the tremendous market success of SRDF software."

This announcement also is a tribute to EMC's ability to develop high-value products and execute with the fastest time-to-market. It's a simple concept but one that not many can achieve," Egan added. "As a result, SRDF has been installed in many of the world's premier companies since its introduction in October 1994, and has become -- by far -- the industry's most widely adopted storage-based business continuance solution.”

According to the newly released information management survey conducted for EMC by New York-based research firm Find/SVP, 44% of IT executives reported more than five incidents of unplanned downtime over the past year. These events can cost corporations tens of thousands to more than a million dollars per hour in lost revenue, lost market share, reduced customer satisfaction and, in the financial market, regulatory fines.

Based in Atlanta, GA, WORLDSPAN L.P. is jointly owned by Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, Trans World Airlines and Abacus Distribution Systems. WORLDSPAN offers a broad selection of reservations, ticketing and office automation products to the domestic and international travel industry.

EMC Corporation, based in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, is the world's leading supplier of intelligent enterprise storage and retrieval technology, designing systems for mainframe, open systems and midrange environments. The company has offices worldwide, trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EMC, and is a member of the S&P 500 Index. For further information about EMC products and services, EMC's home page can be accessed at http://www.emc.com

Symmetrix is a registered trademark and EMC, EMC Enterprise Storage, and SRDF are trademarks of EMC Corporation. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

CONTACT: EMC Corporation - David Farmer, 508-435-1000 (Ext. 77206)
farmer_dave@isus.emc.com

WORLDSPAN L.P. - Patricia Cooledge Forsyth, 770-563-7885