SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 1, 2000-- Yesterday's North American introduction of NetVault(tm) storage management software from BakBone Software (TSE:BKB. - news; OTCBB:BKBOF - news) is receiving praise from a wide range of industry analysts and value-added reseller partners, as well as companies already using the software to backup their most important data.

``Companies are seeking storage management software that meets their escalating needs today, as well as provide them with easy scalability for tomorrow's requirements, including SANs,'' said Farid Neema, president of Peripheral Concepts, a California-based industry consultancy. ``NetVault has demonstrated the ability to accomplish both objectives. Its ability to grow with a company's storage needs, plus its ease of use, makes it a viable contender in this rapidly growing field,'' he continued.

Other analysts echoed Neema's comments: Steve Widen, of International Data Corporation, said, ``NetVault is the kind of solution enterprises should consider as their storage management needs continue to grow.'' META Group's Randy Owen praised NetVault's unique DirectSAN(TM) capability, saying, ``While (NetVault) performs admirably in a SAN environment, companies backing up their most critical data over the LAN can exploit DirecSAN's benefits today.'' And Bob Abraham, of Freeman Reports, commented, ``To succeed in the storage management market, it is vital to provide users a stable, yet flexible software platform that can grow with customer needs. A modular architecture - such as utilized by BakBone Software - gives users the confidence that the software will be able to meet their changing requirements.''

Users cite NetVault's ease of use, reliability Similar praise for NetVault came from several companies already using the software in advance of yesterday's North American launch. Philadelphia-based NCO Group, the world's largest provider of accounts receivable services, uses NetVault nightly to backup 300 gigabytes of information, from its locations in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. ``NetVault is easy to install and configure,'' said Jon Bodarky, NCO's manager of systems and network administration. ``I have never seen a piece of UNIX software that installs that easily and works that well. It has proven to be everything I was hoping it would be.''

In Carmel, California, broadband and connectivity service provider Universal Internet also uses NetVault. ``We chose NetVault because its price/performance point was better than that of its competition. We were especially impressed by its ability to run on Windows NT and UNIX machines simultaneously,'' said company president Brian Steckler.

Resellers also give BakBone, NetVault high marks NetVault is garnering support from its partners in the reseller community as well. They praise both NetVault's ability to help companies to protect its data, as well as BakBone's channel-specific focus. ``NetVault will provide tremendous value to our customers. They have told us repeatedly they are seeking high-performance storage management software, which is robust, scalable and most of all, easy to use. NetVault easily meets and exceeds those requirements,'' said Charles Yonker, StorNet's chief operating officer.

Andy Berg, VP/Marketing at Toronto-based Optus E-business Solutions, stated, ``Our customers are demanding increasing flexibility as they perform their data backups. Their backups are growing in size; their windows are shrinking. Ease of use is a critical factor, and that is a primary reason we choose to recommend NetVault to our customers.'' At SanOne, VP/Sales and Marketing Mike Flannery said, ``In tests in our labs, we found NetVault blew away the competition in terms of its ease of use and its functionality. Our engineers were impressed by the consistency of the GUI interface, which outperformed any other storage management software we've tested. NetVault is the Viagra of storage management applications.''

BakBone's approach to establishing and maintaining long-term partner relationships led IDC analyst Janet Waxman to comment, ``(BakBone's) plan to leverage the indirect sales model on an exclusive basis offers an interesting proposition and sets the stage for strong and stable alliances that can yield considerable revenues for the entire value chain.''

About BakBone Software, Inc.

BakBone Software™ (TSE: BKB, OTC: BKBOF) is an international storage management software company that develops and globally distributes industry-leading storage management solutions to the open systems markets, providing data protection and management solutions scalable from office to enterprise that will grow with a company's needs.

BakBone's NetVaultTM product is designed to provide unparalleled robustness, and unmatched data protection and recovery to meet the challenges of today's computing infrastructures. NetVault's comprehensive but easy to use features include versatile modular design, advanced SAN support and specialized on-line application backup. The very core of the product is designed with high bandwidth data transfers in mind and designed to ensure that performance is not compromised.

BakBone's corporate headquarters are located at 10145 Pacific Heights Boulevard, San Diego, Ca. 92121. Its stock is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and is included on the TSE 300 Composite, S&P/TSE Canadian SmallCap and TSE 200 indices. For more information on BakBone products, call 858-450-9009, e-mail sales@bakbone.com, or access BakBone's web site at www.bakbone.com.

Safe Harbor

The statements contained in this press release that are not historical in nature are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees since there are inherent difficulties in predicting future results, and actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements.