ATTO Technology Celebrates 25 Years Innovative manufacturer of high-performance computer storage and connectivity solutions goes from UB technology incubator to market leader. Amherst, NY (November 15, 2013) - ATTO Technology, Inc., a global leader of storage and network connectivity and infrastructure solutions for data-intensive computing environments, celebrated its 25 year anniversary on November 11, 2013. In addition to powering some of the worlds largest data centers, the Amherst-based company is recognized as having helped revolutionize media and entertainment production for digital audio, video, film, broadcast and video-on-demand solutions. The road to success for Buffalo, New York natives, Timothy J. Klein and David A. Snell, began in 1988 after working as systems engineers for Barrister Information Systems, a Buffalo company that developed time management, legal and accounting software. Tim specialized in hardware while Daves expertise was in writing software. Knowing they wanted to start their own company, they sat in Tims family room and made the decision to breathe life into a unique product idea that would be the first in a long line of groundbreaking innovations that would revolutionize the technology industry.
By early 1988, the young entrepreneurs developed, built and sold their first product, the industrys first solid state storage disk, SiliconDisk , which allowed computers to process data transfer tens to as much as hundreds of times faster than a standalone computer system. This groundbreaking technology was quickly adopted by new OEM partner, Eastman Kodak . We were extremely excited that a company with the prestige of Kodak saw the clear value of our technology, said David Snell, ATTO Vice President of Engineering, Chief Technology Officer and co-founder. It validated our vision and made it apparent that we were on to something great. On November 11, the new company was officially born. The name ATTO referenced the unit of time equal to 10-18, or one quintillionth of a second, in reference to the incredible processing and data transfer speeds that they knew would set their products apart.
As demand for their exciting new product increased, it was apparent that they were in dire need of the infrastructure necessary to grow. Tim, an alumnus of the University at Buffalo, was aware of a new SUNY Buffalo technology incubator managed by the Western New York Technology Development Center (TDC), which offered promising young entrepreneurs the tools and resources necessary to help bring high-tech product ideas to market. This program is known today as the University at Buffalo Technology Incubator, which falls under the administration of the University at Buffalo Office of Science, Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach (STOR). It was here in 1989 that they were introduced to engineers, testing labs, office space and, most importantly, interested investors that recognized the potential of their vision.
ATTO Technology represents one of our first true success stories for the UB Technology Incubator, said Dr. Robert J. Genco, Vice Provost of STOR. Each company that comes through our system strives to model their growth and success after that which ATTO has achieved. ATTO is proof that our system, also celebrating our 25th year, is invaluable to the development of local startups. They represent the growing number of technologically advanced companies that are having success here in Western New York creating over 3,000 jobs and contributing 500 million dollars to our economy according to an independent economic impact study.
Success came quickly for Klein and Snell, experiencing triple digit growth over the first 5 years of operation. As their product lines grew, so did the customer base. Their products were used by Apple , Siemens , 3M , Data General and Avid Technology. In 1995, they were awarded the Mac Eddy, the industrys Oscar, by MacUser magazine. Once we identified our niche in the market, we were hungry to drive the boundaries of what was technologically possible, said Timothy Klein, President, CEO and co-founder. Today, ATTO is partnered with the industry leaders, where our unique intellectual property enables them to penetrate new markets. We are the only company that allows them to develop complete infrastructure solutions in the enterprise environment, from the data center to highly specialized workgroup applications.
Manufactured in Western New York, ATTOs products are sold in over 60 countries worldwide. Their customers encompass a wide range of prestigious Media and Entertainment companies that produce blockbuster films, award-winning television shows and global broadcasts of live news and sports. ATTO products are sold by industry leaders, such as Apple , Dell , EMC , HP , IBM , and NetApp , driving the transformation to Big Data, virtualized and cloud computing environments.
We are proud of the level of technology professionals and innovation that comes out of the Buffalo Niagara region and are very excited to be one of the companies driving that leadership, said Klein. ATTO is looking forward to our next 25 years of helping to revolutionize the technology industry.
Learn more about ATTO products at:
http://www.attotech.com
Learn more about the UB S.T.O.R. program at:
http://www.research.buffalo.edu/stor/
