Storage Technology Corporation (StorageTek) is a worldwide technology company that delivers a broad range of data storage offerings. StorageTek is headquartered in Louisville, Colorado with manufacturing facilities in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is now a subsidiary of Sun Microsystems.

= Brief history =

StorageTek was founded by four former s dominance in tape storage, expanded to compete in the printer business for more than a dozen years, introduced the automated tape library in 1987, and most recently has defined information lifecycle management as the framework for cost-effective and efficient storage early in the 21st century.

StorageTek entered global markets as early as 1971, by signing an agreement with Promodata of France, and by opening an office in Hamburg, Germany, in 1972. StorageTek entered the Japanese market in the early 1970s, and, within ten years of the company s creation, had expanded to Australia and other international markets. By the late 1970s, StorageTek had developed OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and reseller partnerships to further its reach.

The creativity and innovation of StorageTek s engineers have been the source of more than 600 U.S. and 40 patents in other countries. StorageTek has acquired a number of companies along the way, including Documation (1980), Aspen Peripherals Corporation (1989), Network Systems (1995), and Storability (2005). These and other activities allowed StorageTek to expand operations in Ponce, Puerto Rico and Toulouse, France.

On June 2, 2005, Sun announced it would purchase Storage Technology Corporation ( Storagetek ) for US$4.1 billion in cash, or $37.00 per share. On August 31, 2005, the acquisition was completed.

= Technology Milestones for StorageTek =

1970 - StorageTek releases its first product, the 2450/2470 tape drive, just 14 months after start-up to beat the business plan by four months. 1971 - StorageTek introduces the 3400 tape storage device; its first proprietary subsystem. 1973 - StorageTeks disk division is founded. 1974 - StorageTeks first 3600 tape drive ships. 1975 - StorageTek ships the first 8000 Super Disk and announces the 8350 disk subsystem. 1978 - StorageTek develops the first solid-state disk. 1986 - StorageTek develops the first cached disk. 1987 - StorageTek develops tape automation. 1994 - StorageTek introduces virtual disk. 2001 - StorageTek introduces virtual networking. 2002 - StorageTek introduces BladeStore, a new type of storage performance based on ATA disk technology. 2003 - StorageTek introduces the EchoView data protection appliance, a disk-based appliance that eliminates the backup window. 2003 - StorageTek changes the face of tape automation with the introduction of its StreamLine SL8500 modular library system.

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