Exhibit 10.30

December 12, 2003

Mark B. Ward 
36 Laurel Road
Weston, MA 02493

Dear Mark:

I am pleased to offer you the
position of Vice President/General Manager ILM, reporting to Pat Martin, Chairman,
President and Chief Executive Officer, to begin at your earliest convenience, prior to
year end. Your annualized base salary will be $275,000.00, payable bi-weekly. Other
benefits being offered with this position are outlined below.

You will be eligible to participate
in the 2004 StorageTek Pay for Performance Management Bonus Plan. The target level
incentive for your position will be 55% of your base salary. Incentive payout is based on
achievement of corporate and individual goals.

Subject to approval of the Board of
Directors, you will be granted an option to purchase 60,000 shares of StorageTek common
stock at the next regular meeting of the Compensation Committee after your hire date. Any
stock options you may receive are subject to the approval of the Board of Directors and
are not granted until approved by the Board. The exercise price per share will be the fair
market value as of the grant date. The option will vest in equal annual installments over
a four-year period after the grant date. Any options granted to you will be pursuant and
subject to the terms and conditions of StorageTeks 1995 Amended and Restated Equity
Participation Plan, as that plan may be amended from time to time. You will be provided a
copy of the stock option plan after the Board of Directors approves your option grant.

Additionally, subject to the approval
of the Board of Directors, you will receive 10,000 shares of StorageTek restricted common
stock at par value, $0.10 per share. These shares will also vest in equal annual
installments over a four-year period after the grant date, and are also subject to the
terms and conditions of StorageTeks 1995 Amended and Restated Equity Participation
Plan.

To assist with the transition to your
new location, StorageTek will provide for the relocation expenses as detailed in the
attached Relocation Assistance Summary.

As a member of our team, you will be
eligible to participate in our flexible benefit program that currently includes: medical,
dental, life, short- and long-term disability coverage, 401(k), employee stock purchase
plan and many other employee benefits and services as outlined below.

| | 401(k)
                Participation in the StorageTek 401(k) Plan upon hire and begin
               contributions in the next available payroll cycle following enrollment.
               Currently, StorageTek matches 100 percent of the first three percent of your
               annual base pay and 50 percent of the next four percent (up to government
               guidelines). Furthermore, starting in the year you turn 50, you may contribute
               an additional amount up to the government guidelines.
|- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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| | Deferred
Compensation  Under this program you may contribute up to 50% of your base salary
and up to 100% (subject to you meeting your other paycheck obligations) of your marketing
or management bonuses into a non-qualified tax deferred plan.  In addition, you may
also contribute excess 401(k) contributions to the plan. This program offers various
investment options in addition to a fixed crediting rate.
|- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

| | Executive
Life  StorageTek will also provide you with life insurance that is equivalent to two
times your base pay. Your initial coverage will be through group term insurance. After you
start, you will receive enrollment materials for the executive life insurance plan that
allow you to enroll in a universal life policy (for coverage above $50,000) that you will
own and that will provide cash surrender value.
|- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

| | Medical
and Dental  StorageTek offers comprehensive medical/prescription and dental plans,
as well as an eyewear discount plan. We pay a majority of the cost of medical and dental
coverage for employees and eligible dependents. In addition we offer onsite medical and
dental services at our Louisville campus.
|- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

| | Short/Long-term
disability  Short-term disability (STD) coverage is provided at no cost to you. You
may purchase Long-Term Disability (LTD) coverage for a fee.
|- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

| | Employee
Stock Purchase Program  Twice each year you have the opportunity to authorize up to
10% of your after-tax pay to be used to purchase StorageTek stock through convenient
payroll deductions at 85% of its market value.
|- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

| | AD&D,
Travel Accident  StorageTek provides basic employee AD&D in the amount of two
times your annual base salary, up to $900,000 in coverage, at no cost to you. StorageTek
pays the entire cost of business travel accident insurance.
|- | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

| | Executive
vacation program allowing vacation as business conditions dictate. There is no defined
limit, and therefore, no vacation accrual.
|- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All employment offers are subject to
successfully passing a drug-screening test, background check, signing of our propriety
rights agreement and your ability to accept employment in the United States.

Mark, here at StorageTek, we are
passionate about our work. Our culture is energizing, innovative and challenging. We
realize that talented people like you help make us more successful in our rapidly
expanding world markets. StorageTek is an Equal Opportunity employer that embraces and
encourages diversity. Our goal is to hire the right person into the right job at the right
time so that we together can put the power of information into our customers hands.
We hope you will help us meet this challenge and become part of the StorageTek team.

Please sign both copies and return
one copy of this letter by December 15, 2003 to indicate your acceptance of the terms of
this offer. This offer will expire after that date.

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We look forward to having you join
our team. If you have any questions regarding this offer, please call me directly at (303)
673-3460.

Sincerely, 
Roger Gaston 
Corporate Vice President, Human Resources
StorageTek

I have read this offer and I
understand and accept its terms.

|Mark B. Ward |  | Acceptance Date
|-------------------------- |  | -----------------------------

To facilitate enrollment into our
personnel system, please provide the following:

|Social Security Number |  | Date of Birth
|------------------------------------ |  | ---------------------------

Assuming that you have received
notification that you have successfully passed all components of StorageTeks
pre-employment screening process before such date*, we would like you to start work as
soon as possible.

_______________________ Start Date

*Please note: We typically receive
the background check in five to seven business days from when you fax it in. We typically
receive the drug test results in three to four business days from when you take the test.

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# Relocation Assistance
Payment Agreement

Should you resign your employment or
if you are terminated for cause, as defined below, from Storage Technology
Corporation (StorageTek) within eighteen (18) months from your relocation
date, you agree to pay StorageTek any relocation expenses paid to you, on your behalf or
reimbursed to you. These expenses include, but are not limited to, lump sum payments for
relocation assistance, payment of shipment of household goods, travel expenses to the new
location, and home sales assistance if offered. Such amount shall be payable immediately
upon your termination of employment with StorageTek and will be prorated based on
completed hours of employment service from the later of your hire date or relocation date.

Termination for cause for
purposes of this Agreement shall mean any of the following: (1) your willful failure to
perform your duties and responsibilities; (2) your breach of any written agreement between
yourself and StorageTek; (3) negligence or dishonesty in the performance of your duties;
(4) your material violation of any of the Corporate Policies and Practices as in effect
from time to time; (5) your engaging in conduct or activities that materially conflict
with the interests of or injure StorageTek, or materially interfere with your duties owed
to StorageTek as such is determined in the sole and complete discretion of StorageTek; (6)
your failure to perform lawful duties within your area of responsibility as assigned to
you by your manager; and (7) your conviction of a felony in any criminal proceeding (or
entering into a plea bargain admitting criminal guilt, including any plea to any offense
for which a deferred sentence or prosecution is received) regardless of whether the
conduct for which you are convicted is work related.

In addition, you agree to authorize
StorageTek to deduct from your final paycheck any amounts owed to StorageTek pursuant to
this Relocation Assistance Payment Agreement and any other amounts that StorageTek
otherwise might pay upon termination, including without limitation your accrued but unused
vacation. Your hire date is the date you commenced work with StorageTek.

In the event you refuse or fail to
pay the amount owed for relocation expenses paid to you by StorageTek, StorageTek will be
entitled to recover from you its attorneys fees and costs associated with the
collection of said expenses.

Nothing in this Agreement alters your
status as an at-will employee. As an at-will employee, either StorageTek or you can
terminate your employment relationship at any time, with or without advance notice, and
with or without cause.

|Accepted by: | Mark B. Ward |  |  Date
|------------ | -------------------------- |  | -------------------

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