AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwire - Dec 19, 2012) - Crossroads Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: [ CRDS ]), a global provider of data archive solutions, today announced the creation of a Crossroads Systems Federal Sales Unit as aided by a newly formed Federal Business Advisory Board. The unit and board are tasked with providing mission solutions to help address the ever-growing data access and archive needs for public sector organizations.

StrongBox^®, a shared storage archive, delivers complete data protection and reliability. It's the first enterprise-level storage solution to leverage Linear Tape File System (LTFS) technology, allowing a responsive tape storage system to walk and talk like expensive disk-based storage. StrongBox specifically addresses three of the federal government's top data archiving priorities, including

• Vendor-Neutrality - The ability to use any libraries and disk without concern of becoming locked-in to any one provider
• Reduced Environmental Impact - Dramatic reductions in power and cooling requirements
• Assured Data Retention - Self-monitoring to ensure long-term, cost effective data retention

Crossroads has focused its go-to-market efforts in businesses and sectors that create large content information that is integral to the business mission and its operations. Video production, imaging, and video surveillance solutions have demonstrated workflow solutions that are ideal to the public sector markets and their mission operations.

Crossroads Systems Federal Business Advisory Board
Crossroads named the first two independent members of its new Federal Business Advisory Board, including:

• Jeffrey K. Harris - A consultant for defense and intelligence sectors and member of the United States Energy Security Council, Harris formerly was a corporate officer at Lockheed Martin, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space, and Director of the National Reconnaissance Office.
  
  
• John P. Stenbit - A leading consultant for the space, defense, IT and security sectors, Stenbit formerly served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence and its successor organization, Networks and Information Integration. Those positions included his role as the Chief Information Officer for the Department of Defense.
  

"The big data movement requires improved reliability, manageability and cost-effective performance to achieve a workflow-driven, scalable archive with data access to best enable big data analytic discovery," Harris said. "Strongbox technologies can be an important enabler in an open enterprise."

"As the requirements for storage of data gathered by the government continue to increase, new concepts are needed to efficiently keep those data available for analysis," Stenbit said. "With the budgets for all of government getting tighter, cost is a demanding condition of effective solutions for such archiving."

"Crossroads is pleased to announce the formation of our Federal Sales Unit and its advisory board," said David Cerf, executive vice president of corporate and business development at Crossroads Systems. "I especially wish to thank the members of our new advisory board, as their knowledge and experience in the public sector will serve as a great asset as we continue to expand StrongBox's reach within the federal government. StrongBox offers a game-changing approach to data archiving, as it significantly reduces data archiving costs, drastically decreases power consumption, and provides for data storage that remains reliable for decades. The formation of this unit reflects Crossroads' belief that the public sector will highly value StrongBox due to its non-proprietary, file-based and fully portable shared storage capabilities across the enterprise."

About StrongBox
StrongBox is a shared storage solution purpose-built for data archival and preservation. Using Linear Tape File System (LTFS) technology and intelligent storage architecture with standard file systems (CIFS/NFS), StrongBox empowers online, all the time file availability with uncompromised data protection, full data mobility, non-proprietary file storage and significant cost-savings. StrongBox unifies your archive -- past and present -- while providing seamless scalability and reliability for the future. Visit: [ www.crossroads.com/products/strongbox ].

About Crossroads Systems
Crossroads Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: [ CRDS ]) is a global provider of data archive solutions. Through the innovative use of new technologies, Crossroads delivers customer-driven solutions that enable proactive data security, advanced data archiving, optimized performance and significant cost-savings. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Austin, TX, Crossroads holds more than 100 patents and has been honored with numerous industry awards for data archiving, storage and protection. 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.