Hitachi Data Systems (HDS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., is expanding rapidly into the global SMB markets. These moves, backed by a significant investment by Hitachi, Ltd. in China, and other key Asian and Eastern European markets, include channel-optimized starter solutions for SAN-based consolidation and data backup built on the new Hitachi Thunder 9520V Workgroup Modular Storage system.
The offerings, which will focus on the Microsoft Windows 2003 Server platform market, are the first-ever channel-only storage solutions from the company that will be sold by Hitachi TrueNorth Channel partners around the globe. These partners include computer giants Lenovo and Acer in Asia and Gateway in the Americas and channel partners MAXDATA in Europe, Bell Microproducts in North America and Naizak and STME in the Middle East.
“Channel partners can use our new SMB offerings as the foundation to which they add their own services and vertical market expertise, to provide custom solutions for their clients,” said Shinjiro Iwata, CEO, Hitachi Data Systems.
New Hitachi Thunder 9520V Workgroup Modular Storage
The Thunder 9520V brings the Hitachi tradition of high-performance, high-availability storage systems to the unique needs of the SMB marketplace. The Thunder 9520V delivers 4.2 gigabytes per second of cached bandwidth — six times that of the nearest ATA-based comparative product — and superior connectivity, data availability, and reliability. It also enjoys the same enhanced SATA Data Protection that characterizes the SATA Intermix Option in the high-end of the Thunder 9500 V Series line. The Thunder 9520V also supports Hi-Track 24/7 “call home” technology to help diagnose and resolve issues before they become problems, plus fully redundant components that can be replaced without downtime.
“We’ve seen a growing demand from the Middle East region’s SMB market for storage solutions tailored to their requirements,” said John Bentley, sales director, Hitachi Data Systems, Middle East. “The Hitachi Data Systems channel partners here have a strong reach into that market and now with the Thunder 9520V they can target that segment more effectively.”
New SAN Starter Solutionsfor SMB Customers
Many customers in the SMB market are still using server internal or direct attached storage. As businesses grow, these approaches quickly become difficult to scale and manage, leading to inefficient utilization, unacceptable application quality of service and increased costs. To help SMB customers overcome these issues, Hitachi Data Systems is offering SAN Starter Solutions including pre-configured storage systems and components from leading SAN infrastructure companies:
• Brocade SilkWorm 3252, an eight-port entry-level fabric switch which includes an EZ-Setup Wizard, integrated online training and GUI-based Web Tools for simple switch setup, configuration and management.
• Emulex LP101 Host Bus Adapter (HBA) featuring AutoPilot Installer Wizard and the Quick-Install Guide for complete installation and configuration in a matter of minutes.
• McDATA Sphereon 4500 Fabric Switch with eight ports available with built-in SANpilot browser-based tool simplifies SAN management small fabrics.
With these Starter Solutions, channel partners will be able to help their customers consolidate storage onto a Thunder 9520V system and quickly and easily build and deploy their first SAN.
