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Hitachi Data Systems Continues Commitment to Open SAN Solutions with Brocade SAN Switches
PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--04/07/2004-- Expanded Partnership with Brocade, and Availability of New Brocade Switches Create New Options and Opportunities for Customers
Hitachi Data Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT), today announced that it has partnered with Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (Brocade(R)) (Nasdaq:BRCD), the world's leading provider of infrastructure solutions for Storage Area Networks to distribute Brocade's new SilkWorm(R) 3250 and SilkWorm 3850 switches, which are Brocade's new entry-level products designed to meet the needs of Small to Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs), and the SilkWorm 24000 Director, which is Brocade's newest high-capacity switch designed for large enterprises. By offering these three new products, Hitachi Data Systems continues to expand customer options on both ends of the spectrum -- from small business or departmental solutions to the needs of Fortune 100 enterprises.
For SMB customers that want to make the most of their IT investments, the SilkWorm 3250 and 3850 switches combine excellent performance and a wide range of features at exceptional value. Both new switches, which offer broad configuration options that can be tailored to meet individual customer needs, are ideal for growing organizations that want to take advantage of SAN technology. These switches complement the Hitachi Thunder 9500(TM) V Series modular storage systems, also targeted at the growing SMB market as well as departments in large organizations.
Coupled with Hitachi Lightning 9900(TM) V series enterprise storage systems, the SilkWorm 24000 Director is ideally suited to meeting customers' large-scale SAN requirements and is designed to support future networked storage applications for larger enterprises. The SilkWorm 24000 Director offers the highest performance and highest scalability of any Brocade director and can meet the most demanding application requirements, while delivering unique advantages in investment protection, interoperability, and fabric-based intelligence.
"Hitachi Data Systems consistently delivers business value through storage solutions that simplify their infrastructure and management, protect their data, and optimize resource utilization," said Scott Genereux, vice president of global marketing and business development for Hitachi Data Systems. "These new products from Brocade combined with Hitachi storage hardware and software will allow us to further extend these benefits to SMB and enterprise-class customers."
"We are pleased that an industry leader such as Hitachi Data Systems is continuing to broaden the range of Brocade solutions offered to their growing customer base," said Tom Buiocchi, vice president of marketing for Brocade. "With the addition of these products, HDS can better serve their customers with storage networking solutions that span from first time entry level users to enterprise customers with the most stringent requirements."
SilkWorm 3250 and 3850 Fabric Switches
The SilkWorm 3250 and 3850 switches deliver the industry leading ease-of-setup and ease-of-use customers have come to expect from Hitachi Data Systems. Complementing the Thunder 9500 V Series storage systems, these new switches support the easy and non-disruptive growth and scalability required for successful SAN deployment and evolution. Both new switches feature hot code activation, which supports non-disruptive software upgrades.
SilkWorm 24000 Director
The SilkWorm 24000 Director delivers exceptional performance and scalability. With 128 active ports in a single domain, the SilkWorm 24000 enables increased scalability, while lowering overall management needs. The SilkWorm 24000 supports "five nines" availability with designed-in redundancy and is fully compatible with existing storage area networks. Combined with the Lightning 9900 V Series industry-leading capacity and performance, the SilkWorm 24000 meets the storage networking needs of the large enterprise.
About Hitachi Data Systems
Hitachi Data Systems leverages global R&D resources to develop storage solutions built on industry-leading technology with the performance, availability and scalability to maximize customers' ROI and minimize their risk. By focusing on the customer's perspective as we apply the best hardware, software, and services from Hitachi and our partners, we uniquely satisfy our customers' business needs.
With 2,700 employees, Hitachi Data Systems conducts business through direct and indirect channels in the public, government and private sectors in over 170 countries. Its customers include more than 50 percent of Fortune 100 companies. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.hds.com.
About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company, with approximately 340,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2002 (ended March 31, 2003) consolidated sales totaled 8,191.7 billion yen ($68.3 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors, including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's Web site at www.hitachi.com.
About Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.
Brocade (Nasdaq:BRCD) offers the industry's leading intelligent platform for networking storage. The world's leading systems, applications, and storage vendors have selected Brocade to provide a networking foundation for their SAN solutions. The Brocade SilkWorm(R) family of fabric switches and software is designed to optimize data availability and storage and server resources in the enterprise. Using Brocade solutions, companies can simplify the implementation of storage area networks, reduce the total cost of ownership of data storage environments, and improve network and application efficiency. For more information, visit the Brocade website at www.brocade.com or contact the company at info@brocade.com.
Note to Editors: Lightning 9900 and Thunder 9500 are trademarks of Hitachi Data Systems. All trade names, trademarks, and service marks are the rightful property of their respective owners. |
