LONDON, December 12 /PRNewswire/ --

- Award-Winning Desktop Storage Device Easily and Reliably Stores, Protects and Expands as Data Needs Grow

Data Robotics today announced the official UK and Ireland launch of Drobo, the world's first storage robot. Drobo is a striking black desktop device that connects via any USB 2.0 port on a Mac or Windows PC. Under its magnetically attached faceplate are four bays that can accept any brand, size, speed or capacity mix of standard 3.5" SATA internal hard drives (sold separately and available at most electronics stores).

Following its US launch earlier this year, Drobo has gained a worldwide following of enthusiasts including creative professionals such as graphic designers, photographers and video editors, as well as users in the education sector and small business owners.

Drobo works like any external USB drive and installing it is as easy as pulling it out of the box and plugging it into a USB port. However, unlike competitive solutions, Drobo requires no software, no configuration, and no computer expertise to start reliably storing important data. In addition, Drobo users benefit from the extensive reliability features of the storage device, which uses patent-pending RAID-like proprietary software. Drobo boasts data redundancy features normally associated with RAID such as mirroring and data striping, but without the hassle of RAID. Drobo creates one large pool of protected storage out of the available drives, enabling users to get rid of multiple external drives.

Data Robotics was founded by two Brits, Dr. Geoff Barrall and Julian Terry. Barrall earned a doctoral degree in Cybernetics from the University of Reading and serves as CEO of the company. Terry, who earned a degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Bristol, UK, serves as chief architect of Data Robotics.

Barrall - a 20-year-veteran of the storage industry - said he was inspired to create Drobo after losing irreplaceable personal data from a system crash at home. "After inventing enterprise storage technologies and building entire data centers, I understand how to store and protect data better than most," Barrall said. "When I investigated what solutions were out there, the only options were managing a growing number of external hard drives or managing RAID. That's when I realized there needed to be an easier solution, and I began the development of Drobo four years ago."

Drobo is priced at GBP299 MSRP and is distributed in the UK and Ireland by CMS Peripherals, one of the largest independent distributors of data storage solutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is available immediately.

About Data Robotics, Inc.

Data Robotics - the maker of Drobo, the world's first storage robot - develops automated data storage products designed to ensure data is always protected and easy-to-manage. Drobo is infinitely expandable and provides RAID-like reliability. Data Robotics is privately held and is backed by Greylock Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures and RRE Ventures. More details at: http://www.drobo.com.

Press inquiries: James Carter, Touchdown PR, jcarter@touchdownpr.com, +44(0)7770-978086.

Press inquiries: James Carter, Touchdown PR, jcarter@touchdownpr.com, +44(0)7770-978086