Compellent Named As Tekne Award Finalist

Premier awards program recognizes Minnesota's companies and individuals who have shown technology innovation and leadership

Minneapolis, Sept. 30, 2004 — Compellent Technologies, a provider of modular, affordable storage solutions distributed exclusively through a select national network of business partners, today announced it has been named as a finalist for a 2004 Tekne Award, Minnesota's annual awards program that recognizes companies and individuals who have shown superior technology innovation and leadership.

The Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) and Minnesota Technology, Inc. (MTI), in partnership with Medical Alley, MNBIO and Minnesota Project Innovation, join together to recognize technology innovators and leaders who have made lasting contributions to enhancing the quality of life and competitiveness of Minnesota. The awards are separated into categories that recognize the best and brightest in innovation, development, education, commercialization and management of technology in Minnesota.

"We are honored to be selected as a Tekne finalist," said Phil Soran, chief executive officer for Compellent. "We have experienced significant success in a very short period of time, launching a revolutionary storage product, securing more than 70 customers and a national network of business partners, and attracting widespread storage industry recognition over the past year. Compellent is yet another example of how Minnesota cultivates strong, innovative companies."

"In the five years that we've been naming Tekne Award finalists, the program has become the premier awards for technology innovators and leaders in the state of Minnesota," said Kate Rubin, president of the Minnesota High Tech Association. "The 2004 Tekne Award finalists show that Minnesota continues to produce cutting-edge technology and is a great place to do business."

Dr. Wayne Pletcher, president of Minnesota Technology, Inc. added: "We are proud to honor Compellent as a 2004 Tekne Award finalist and are pleased to recognize their leadership in this industry."

The 2004 Tekne Awards will be presented on Tuesday, Nov. 9 at the Minneapolis Convention Center, beginning with a reception at 4:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 6 p.m. and the awards ceremony at 7:00 p.m. Don Shelby, WCCO anchor and education and math advocate, will M.C. the event.

Fifty-one finalists have been named in 17 categories. A list of all finalists and categories can be found at www.tekneawards.org.

About Compellent
Compellent delivers affordable, modular storage solutions exclusively through business partners that provide companies of all sizes enterprise-level storage capabilities without big system costs or complexities. Designed by network storage and virtualization pioneers, Compellent enables any business to cut storage expenditures in half, recover from data hazards within minutes, scale to any capacity across any technology and easily manage its storage without adding staff. Headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minn., Compellent has raised more than $23 million in financing from leading investors including Cargill Ventures, Crescendo Ventures and El Dorado Ventures. For more information, www.compellent.com

About MTI
Minnesota Technology, Inc. (MTI) is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to help its business customers gain competitive advantages, support their growth, and contribute to Minnesota's economic vitality. It fulfills this work through a statewide staff of expert professionals who have tested expertise across a wide variety of business, technology, manufacturing, engineering, publishing and research disciplines. In the last three years, MTI has helped nearly 2,000 Minnesota companies and made a significant economic impact. It helped create and retain over 2,500 jobs, saved its clients more than $70 million, and helped generate $80 million in new technology investments. For more information visit www.minnesotatechnology.org.

About MHTA
The Minnesota High Tech Association accelerates the growth, success and sustainability of Minnesota's technology-based economy through public policy advocacy, member collaboration and education, and community outreach. MHTA is the only membership organization that represents Minnesota's entire technology-based economy. MHTA members include organizations of every size _ involved in virtually every aspect of technology creation, production, application and education in Minnesota. MHTA works in partnership with AeA, which represents Minnesota's technology organizations nationally. More information on the MHTA can be found at www.mhta.org.

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