ZeusRAM(TM) and ZeusIOPS(R) SSDs to be Showcased at
      OpenStorage Summit EMEA, May 22-24, 2012 in Amsterdam,
                            Netherlands

SANTA ANA, Calif., May 21, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- STEC, Inc.
(Nasdaq:STEC), a leading global provider of solid-state drive (SSD)
technologies and products, today announced that Nexenta Systems, Inc.
has certified an all-STEC SSD configuration using a combination of
ZeusRAM(TM) and ZeusIOPS(R) SSDs to increase read/write capabilities
within its NexentaStor ZFS-based storage platform. STEC will showcase
ZeusRAM and ZeusIOPS SSDs running on a NexentaStor platform at the May
22-24 OpenStorage Summit EMEA 2012 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Increasing the I/O performance of next-generation data centers and
cloud computing environments is essential for supporting enterprise
e-commerce, database and email applications. Utilizing STEC's ZeusRAM
SSD as the write log and ZeusIOPS SSD as the read cache within the
NexentaStor storage system alleviates performance bottlenecks. Benefits
include up to 5X better performance for such enterprise applications as
database indexing and email exchanges, 8X reduction in cost per user,
and 4X reduction in cost per transaction.

"The OpenStorage Summit EMEA 2012 is all about technical education and
skills training, as well as networking and relationship-building
activities," said Evan Powell, CEO, Nexenta Systems. "STEC is at the
forefront of SSD technology and their involvement at this year's event
is indicative of the high caliber of our sponsors. As our strategic SSD
supplier, STEC is helping us deliver differentiated value to Nexenta
customers and their participation will help fuel the growth of
OpenStorage Summit EMEA."

"We have used alternative lower-cost SSD solutions in the past, and in
all instances we noticed that the drive's read caching performance
dropped off drastically after only two months of operation," said Eddo
Jansen, infrastructure manager at BAS Group, the largest electronics
retailer and e-tailer in the Netherlands. "As these performance
decreases were unacceptable, we decided to switch to STEC's SSDs, which
based on our experience were able to sustain a high level of
reliability and performance over the drive's entire lifetime. We have
since selected, and now use, STEC's enterprise SSDs exclusively as two
important components of our ZFS architecture: ZeusRAM to accelerate
synchronous writes, and ZeusIOPS to accelerate reads. The efficiency of
STEC's SSD solutions has far exceeded our expectations."

"At STEC, we pride ourselves on building the best possible
enterprise-class solid-state drives and solutions," said Davide Villa,
STEC Vice President of Sales, EMEA. "Our ZeusRAM and ZeusIOPS SSDs are
purpose-built from the ground up to excel throughout the life of the
drive. We are excited about being able to deliver the performance and
cost benefits of our drives to Nexenta's customers."

NexentaStor is a unified storage management software platform that
delivers enterprise-class features and runs on industry-standard
hardware. Using NexentaStor, customers can save up to 80 percent over
proprietary solutions while enjoying superior functionality and
flexibility.

In addition, NexentaStor helps organizations implement high
performance, cost-effective data storage solutions by taking advantage
of features such as ZFS Intent Log (ZIL), inline deduplication,
hardware-agnostic solutions, unlimited snapshots and cloning.

Product Demonstrations at OpenStorage Summit EMEA 2012

STEC's ZeusRAM and ZeusIOPS SSDs will be featured at OpenStorage Summit
EMEA 2012, hosted by Nexenta, from May 22-24 at the Mercure Hotel in
Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Bundle package discounts are available for
companies that wish to take advantage of the read/write capabilities of
STEC's ZeusRAM and ZeusIOPS SSDs within a NexentaStor storage solution.

About STEC, Inc.

STEC, Inc., The SSD Company(TM), is a leading global provider of
enterprise-class solid-state drive (SSD) technologies and solutions
tailored to meet the high-performance, high-reliability and
high-endurance needs of today's data-intensive server and storage
platforms. With headquarters in Santa Ana, California and locations
worldwide, STEC leverages almost two decades of solid-state knowledge
and experience to design, manufacture and deliver the most
comprehensive line of PCIe, SAS, SATA and embedded SSDs on the market
today. In addition, STEC's EnhanceIO(TM) SSD Cache Software enables IT
managers to cost-effectively scale server application performance. For
more information, please visit www.stec-inc.com.

The STEC, Inc. logo is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1079

STEC, the STEC logo, The SSD Company, ZeusIOPS and ZeusRAM are either
registered trademarks or trademarks of STEC, Inc. in the United States
and certain other countries. All other trademarks or brand names
referred to herein are the property of their respective owners.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995

This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties, including those statements concerning customer adoption
and utilization of Nexenta's and STEC's products and solutions; the
adoption of ZeusIOPS, ZeusRAM and other STEC products and solutions
into new applications and markets; overall product and solution cost
savings; the capabilities, performance and benefits of ZeusIOPS,
ZeusRAM and other STEC products and solutions, alone or in combination
with the NexentaStor storage platform; and the evolving enterprise
storage and server markets. Such forward-looking statements are based
on current expectations and involve inherent risks and uncertainties,
including factors that could delay, divert or change any of them, and
could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from
current expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results
to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the
forward-looking statements are detailed in filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission made from time to time by STEC,
including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, its Quarterly Reports on Form
10-Q, and its Current Reports on Form 8-K. The information contained in
this press release is a statement of STEC's present intentions, beliefs
or expectations. STEC may change its intentions, beliefs or
expectations, at any time and without notice, based upon any changes in
such factors, in STEC's assumptions or otherwise. STEC undertakes no
obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date
hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.


CONTACT: Michael Bingham
         Director, Corporate Marketing and Communications
         STEC, Inc.
         (949) 476-1180 xt. 8406
         mbingham@stec-inc.com