NetApp Debuts Industry's First All-in-One Network Storage Solution for Growing SMB Market
biz.yahoo.com
Monday June 26, 8:00 am ET
New StoreVault(TM) S500 Delivers Unparalleled Scalability, Simplicity, and Security at an SMB Price Point
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 26, 2006--Network Appliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) today unveiled a new network storage solution, the StoreVault S500, aimed at the small and medium business (SMB) market segment. StoreVault, a NetApp division, combines enterprise-proven storage technology from NetApp with the scalability, simplicity, security, and affordability that are missing in today's network storage solutions for SMBs.
The StoreVault S500 is the industry's first scalable all-in-one network storage appliance for the SMB market segment that supports NAS, iSCSI SAN, and Fibre Channel (FC) SAN, providing SMB customers unparalleled flexibility compared to direct-attached storage. As part of today's announcement, StoreVault is teaming with the following industry leaders to deliver a complete all-in-one solution to the SMB market:
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - News). The StoreVault S500 is listed in the Windows® Server Catalog and is supported by Microsoft® as a storage array. The StoreVault S500 is also Microsoft SimpleSAN and designated as a component storage array.
QLogic Corporation (NASDAQ:QLGC - News). StoreVault and QLogic are partnering to bring simplicity to Fibre Channel SAN with the StoreVault FC Starter Kit, enabling StoreVault customers to start with NAS or iSCSI SAN and scale to Fibre Channel as their needs evolve, without buying a separate network storage system. The StoreVault FC Starter Kit is expected to be available in fall 2006.
Silverback Systems. As an option for SMB customers who require increased performance on the host server, StoreVault is offering the Silverback Systems iSNAP2110 iSCSI HBA, an initiator card based on Silverback's patented iSNAP® acceleration technology that offloads servers from handling iSCSI and TCP/IP protocols for blazing application performance in iSCSI SAN environments at a market-leading price point.
The StoreVault line of products is aimed at the IT generalist within SMBs, which typically need a half terabyte to three terabytes of data storage. Unlike competitive SMB storage products, the StoreVault solution delivers SMBs the scalability needed as their business grows, simplicity of storage management and backup processes, and security for reliable data protection, all at a price point that fits SMB budgets.
"We were looking for some of the same features the big companies use, but at a much lower price point," said Chuck Edwards, principal, Blue Gecko, a managed service provider. "Before StoreVault, we were forced to buy multiple boxes to meet our needs for file and application storage. StoreVault combines everything into an all-in-one solution that is easy to install and simple to manage."
"StoreVault has revolutionized our computing environment and changed our IT direction," said Tom Seedroff, IT manager, Melco Embroidery Systems, the world's leading manufacturer of sophisticated embroidery solutions for home-based and commercial markets. "The StoreVault S500 works as advertised, addressing my key pain points around data protection and backup with StoreVault Snapshot(TM) technology. Now I don't hesitate to perform a backup during the day, something I would never do with regular tape because it would take way too long, causing network slowdowns."
"Our entry into the SMB market represents a significant expansion of our market opportunity and bolsters the NetApp product portfolio. More importantly, it brings our 14 years of enterprise expertise to SMBs to help them address the expanding data management challenges they face, which are poorly served by other solutions on the market," said Dan Warmenhoven, CEO of Network Appliance. "Other vendors push customers to purchase multiple products to do SAN and NAS or make an up-front technology choice even as iSCSI and Fibre Channel are emerging in the SMB market. The StoreVault all-in-one network storage system will serve the smaller customer's growing environment and simplify their data management, without forcing difficult and expensive up-front technology decisions."
"Too many vendors try to shove feature-stripped versions of their enterprise products into the SMB space because that's where all the hyper-growth is now," said Steve Duplessie, founder and senior analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group. "The SMB doesn't have lesser requirements - if anything they need everything the enterprise needs but at a lower price point and with much simpler implementation and support. The only way to really hit the mark for this sector is to create purpose built solutions and deliver them in the way the SMB wants to buy. Give NetApp credit for not trying more of the same old tactics."
Tailored Solution to Meet the Unique Needs of SMBs
The StoreVault S500 is distinguished among competitive offerings with simplified management, scalability, and security for all of the business information of an SMB.
Simplified Management
Data center proven, 14-year proven operating system Data ONTAP®, accessible through StoreVault Manager, a simple, intuitive Windows-based GUI for easy storage management by an IT generalist
NAS, iSCSI SAN, and FC SAN capabilities are all available in one StoreVault system
Scalability
Easy-to-grow system is scalable to 6TB without disruption to operations
Compatible with either 250 or 500GB SATA drives
Drives can be added or removed nondisruptively, to allocate and reallocate storage on the fly
Security with StoreVault Advanced Protection Architecture
The StoreVault advanced protection architecture offers both data-level and system-level protection:
Advanced system protection technologies deliver a highly reliable storage platform, including RAID-DP(TM) to guard against dual drive failure, predictive failure analysis enabling preemptive rebuild of failed drives using global hot spares, nondisruptive firmware updates, and single-drive power cycling for easy drive management.
Advanced data protection technologies enable rapid data recovery with patented NetApp® Snapshot technology for efficient, frequent backup, enabling 250 Snapshot images, compared to only 8 to 64 snapshots from competitive solutions, as well as SnapRestore® for near-instantaneous restore.
Unique SMB Channel Focus
StoreVault offers the StoreVault S500 exclusively through qualified SMB resellers to meet the unique needs of SMB customers and the channel partners that serve them. NetApp has created a separate and unique SMB channel program tailored to meet the needs of qualified SMB value-added resellers (VARs), which will officially be known as the StoreVault Partner Program. Unlike current SMB vendors, StoreVault will sell the StoreVault S500 only through the channel, with Tech Data as the exclusive distributor of the StoreVault S500.
"The StoreVault Partner Program makes it easy for me to do business, eliminating direct conflict and providing us with a set of focused program benefits and tools specifically designed to help support our SMB customers," said Barry Andersen, senior vice president, Strategic Partnerships, Incentra Solutions. "The best thing my lead engineer can say about the StoreVault S500 was the install to usage time. It only took him seven minutes to install, boot, set up a 1TB iSCSI LUN, and have access from his Windows server. This is the easiest setup we have ever completed for a storage device. The Snapshot technology was simple and easy to use to protect and restore both CIFS shares and NFS mounts. This is going to be a hot selling product to our SMB customers."
"Integrated Archive Systems is very excited about the new StoreVault S500 solution," said Stacy Schwarz-Gardner, senior VP of engineering, Integrated Archive Systems. "The StoreVault S500 is just what our SMB customers have been looking for--solid storage capacity, robust data protection, and simplicity in data management, all from a trusted storage vendor. This is the first time that an enterprise-level vendor is bringing a simple, all-in-one network storage solution to the SMB customer. The StoreVault S500 will be a leap forward in giving SMBs the ability to combine iSCSI SAN and NAS into a single storage pool, managed from a user-friendly interface. When you consider the ease of management, storage capacity, flexibility, and advanced data and system protection features of the StoreVault S500, we anticipate that the typical SMB customer will lower the overall cost of managing storage as well as initial acquisition costs."
"We have learned in our discussions with channel partners and SMB customers that pain points around data management and protection still exist," said Sajai Krishnan, general manager of StoreVault. "As a division, StoreVault is focused on going after the SMB market with speed, agility, and customer focus. We have a unique value proposition with our storage solution as well as our channel program, and we look forward to serving the unmet needs of our SMB customers and our channel partners." |
