AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwire - Sep 7, 2012) - Crossroads Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: [ CRDS ]), a global provider of data protection and storage solutions, today announced that its StrongBox® LTFS NAS archive solution was named a winner of the 2012 HPA Engineering Excellence Award.

The highly coveted honor is an integral part of the HPA Awards, which have become the standard by which creative and technical excellence in the art, science and craft of post production is measured. Winners were selected from a large and varied field of technology offerings, including some of the largest technology companies in the industry. StrongBox is an enterprise-level storage solution that leverages Linear Tape File System (LTFS) technology, allowing tape storage to walk and talk like expensive disk-based storage.

In the media and entertainment (M&E) industry, the content is the business. Whether it's a movie scene, a sporting event or news programming that requires old footage, the media files that hold all of the content are crucial for day-to-day business. Thus, flexible media file storage and access is paramount. StrongBox offers first-of-its-kind technology that addresses the M&E industry's need for low-cost, easily accessible and highly reliable long-term media file preservation. With StrongBox, no special agents or applications are necessary to access archive data. End users simply drag and drop files from their Windows Explorer, Mac Finder or other file-based application.

"Crossroads is extremely honored that its StrongBox archive solution was named a winner of the highly sought-after HPA Engineering Excellence Award," said Paul Leury, Chief Technologist at Crossroads Systems. "To have received such recognition in less than 10 months since its launch, StrongBox stands as a highly unique archive solution that can transform the mindset for maintaining and managing content archives. Additionally, the drastic cost savings associated with replacing disk-based storage with inexpensive tape has the potential to save organizations millions of dollars. We're humbled that some of the top minds in the M&E industry recognized this innovation through the HPA Awards program."

The 2012 HPA Engineering Excellence Award will be bestowed upon its recipients at a gala event scheduled for November 1 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California.

About StrongBox
StrongBox is a file-based and fully portable storage solution for long-term data retention. The enterprise-level solution is the first to leverage LTFS technology, combining the scalability of tape with the speed and accessibility of disk. Crossroads believes StrongBox is a cost-efficient solution that meets ever-growing data storage requirements, seamlessly scaling for today, while future-proofing for tomorrow.

StrongBox presents itself as a standard NAS target with the ability to mount CIFS/NFS shares. No agents, backup software or application modifications are required, and organizations gain a persistent view for all files on tapes stored in the library. For more information on StrongBox, visit [ www.crossroads.com/products/strongbox ].

About the Hollywood Post Alliance
Hollywood Post Alliance (HPA) serves the professional community of businesses and individuals who provide expertise, support, tools and the infrastructure for the creation and finishing of motion pictures, television, commercials, digital media and other dynamic media content. Visit [ www.hpaonline.com ].

About the HPA Awards
The HPA Awards were created to foster awareness of post production, promote creative and technical excellence, recognize the achievements of post production talent, and build involvement in the Hollywood Post Alliance. Visit [ www.hpaawards.net ].

About Crossroads Systems
Crossroads Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: [ CRDS ]) is a global provider of data protection solutions and services. Crossroads offers organizations proactive data security, intelligent storage connectivity, high performance, and significant cost savings. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Crossroads holds more than 100 patents granted and pending and has been honored with numerous industry awards for innovation in data protection and storage. Visit [ www.crossroads.com ].

Important Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements that relate to the business and future events or future performance of Crossroads Systems, Inc. and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause its actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Words such as, but not limited to, "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "targets," "likely," "will," "would," "could," and similar expressions or phrases identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about Crossroads Systems' ability to implement its business strategy, including the transition from a hardware storage company to a software solutions and services provider, its ability to expand its distribution channels, its ability to maintain or broaden relationships with existing distribution channels and strategic alliances and develop new industry relationships, the performance of third parties in its distribution channels and of its strategic alliances, uncertainties relating to product development and commercialization, the ability to obtain, maintain or protect patent and other proprietary intellectual property rights, technological change in its industry, market acceptance of its products and services, future capital requirements, regulatory actions or delays, competition in general and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from those described herein. Forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management's beliefs and opinions at the time the statements are made. Crossroads Systems does not intend, and undertakes no duty, to update this information to reflect future events or circumstances.

©2012 Crossroads Systems, Inc. Crossroads and Crossroads Systems are registered trademarks of Crossroads Systems, Inc. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All specifications are subject to change without notice.