Compellent Receives 2004 Tekne Award

Tekne Awards honor key leaders and innovators in Minnesota technology industries

Minneapolis, Nov. 11, 2004 — Compellent Technologies, a provider of modular, affordable storage solutions, received the IT-Software, Communications and Infrastructure award for Emerging Companies at the 2004 Tekne Awards held at the Minneapolis Convention Center on November 9. The Tekne Awards recognize Minnesota's outstanding technology achievements and leaders.

"We are delighted that Minnesota's technology community has chosen to recognize Compellent for its success," said Phil Soran, co-founder and CEO, Compellent. "In conjunction with our business partners and their customers, Compellent will continue to deliver innovative technology that changes the way companies purchase and manage storage."

Sponsored jointly by The Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) and Minnesota Technology, Inc. (MTI) — and in partnership with Medical Alley, MNBIO and Minnesota Project Innovation — the Tekne Awards recognize technology innovators and leaders who have made lasting contributions to enhancing the quality of life and competitiveness of Minnesota.

"Earning a Tekne Award is a strong indicator of achievement and leadership in Minnesota's competitive technology sectors," said Dr. Wayne Pletcher, president & CEO, Minnesota Technology, Inc. "We're very proud to honor homegrown successes like Compellent, because its efforts help strengthen our entire industry, adding to the success of our business environment and our state's economy."

Tekne Awards are separated into emerging and established company categories recognizing the best and brightest in innovation, development, education, commercialization and management of technology in Minnesota. This year's awards featured 51 finalists in 17 categories. A list of all recipients and finalists is available online at www.tekneawards.org.

"Since we first started this program five years ago, it has grown to become a respected honor for our state's technology innovators and leaders," said Kate Rubin, president, Minnesota High Tech Association. "All of our 2004 Tekne Award recipients and finalists are living proof of the vital, thriving technology climate here in Minnesota."

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, visit www.compellent.com.

About Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA)
The Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) 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. Find out more online at www.mhta.org.

About Minnesota Technology Inc. (MTI)
Minnesota Technology Inc. (MTI) is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization with the mission of helping its business customers gain competitive advantages, supporting their growth, and contributing to Minnesota's economic vitality. MTI 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. Over 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.

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