Dot Hill Named to CRN's 2012 5-Star Partner Program Guide for Third Consecutive Year

LONGMONT, Colo., March 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Dot Hill Systems Corp. (Nasdaq: HILL), a leading provider of SAN storage solutions, today announced that it has been named to CRN's 2012 Partner Programs Guide and was awarded a 5-Star Partner rating for the third consecutive year.

The 2012 CRN Partner Program Guide and CRN 5-Star Rating is the definitive listing of manufacturers and software publishers that service solution providers or provide products to the IT channel. CRN's Partner Program Guide recognizes those vendors who have channel programs and derive a portion of their sales through the indirect IT channel.

In building the list, UBM Channel Research developed a methodology in which vendors are assessed on information provided in their completed applications. The objective criteria takes into account each vendor's investments in program offerings, partner profitability, partner training, education and support, marketing programs and resources, sales support and communication.

Over the past year, Dot Hill has increased field resources, value-add programs and solutions-based sales tools for its most loyal Connections Partner Program partners. To make it easier for all partners to do business with Dot Hill, the company introduced amplified professional service offerings, demand-generation toolkits, marketing support, increased margin incentives, streamlined channel pricing, and improved access to technical support and services.

"Strong, mutually beneficial partnerships are the force behind our ongoing momentum in channel sales and our third consecutive CRN 5-Star rating," said Brad Painter, vice president of channel sales, Dot Hill. "We continue to execute on our strategy to build increasingly stronger relationships with our top-performing, Gold partners. This approach has helped us to achieve greater focus and synergy in addressing key vertical markets, amplifying Dot Hill and partner sales growth and profitability."

"The companies listed in CRN's 2012 Partner Programs Guide represent a comprehensive list of the best channel programs in the market today," said Kelley Damore, vice president and editorial director, for UBM Channel's CRN. "The 5-star award is reserved for vendors that understand that a successful partnership does not rely solely on the technology. By offering their partners tools, education and regular updates, vendors on this list go above and beyond traditional support to ensure a mutually beneficial partnership."

The 2012 Partner Programs Guide and 5-Star Partners listing will be featured on CRN.com and in the March 2012 issue of CRN.

About UBM Channel: (www.ubmchannel.com)
UBM Channel is the premier provider of IT channel-focused events, media, research, consulting, and sales and marketing services. With over 30 years of experience and engagement, UBM Channel has the unmatched channel expertise to execute integrated solutions for technology executives managing partner recruitment, enablement and go-to-market strategy in order to accelerate technology sales. UBM Channel is a UBM company. To learn more about UBM Channel, visit us at www.ubmchannel.com.

UBM plc (www.ubm.com)
UBM plc is a leading global business media company. We inform markets and bring the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online, in print and provide them with the information they need to do business successfully. We focus on serving professional commercial communities, from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewelry traders, from farmers to pharmacists around the world. Our 6,000 staff in more than 30 countries is organized into specialist teams that serve these communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently. For more information, go to www.ubm.com.

About Dot Hill
Leveraging its proprietary Assured family of storage solutions, Dot Hill solves many of today's most challenging storage problems – helping IT to improve performance, increase availability, simplify operations, and reduce costs. Dot Hill's solutions combine breakthrough software with the industry's most flexible and extensive hardware platform and automated management to deliver best-in-class solutions. Headquartered in Longmont, Colo., Dot Hill has offices and/or representatives in China, Germany, India, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

For more information, visit us at www.dothill.com.

HILL-G

Certain statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical fact are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding: any improvement in Dot Hill's financial results due to recognition of the Dot Hill Connections Partner Program; the effectiveness of the Partner Program; the benefits or performance of Dot Hill products in any particular environment, and; Dot Hill's ability to sign new partners due to its recognition by CRN. The risks that contribute to the uncertain nature of the forward-looking statements include: potentially limited visibility of CRN's 5-Star Partner Program Guide; changing customer and partner preferences in the open systems computing market; and unforeseen supply, technological, intellectual property or engineering issues. However, there are many other risks not listed here that may affect the future business of Dot Hill, as well as the forward-looking statements contained herein. To learn about such risks and uncertainties, you should read the risk factors set forth in the company's public filings with the SEC, including the Forms 8-K, 10-K and 10-Q most recently filed by Dot Hill. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made. Dot Hill undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect any change in circumstances or events.

Contact:
Steve Sturgeon
Lutz PR
858-472-5669 
[email protected]

Company Contact:
Ruth Macdonald
Marketing Communications Manager
303-845-3364
[email protected]

SOURCE Dot Hill