NetApp is aiming to bring what it claims is badly needed
enterprise-class agility to the midsize enterprise (MSE) market
with the launch of the FAS2000 product range.
The company says that its new entry-level storage systems and
deployment services will enable MSE customers store, manage and
protect more data.
MSE products are defined by research firm IDC as those priced from
$15,000-$49,999.
IDC forecasts that MSE external disc storage systems market will
grow to $6.0 billion by 2011, a compound annual growth rate of
10.9%, almost twice as fast as the overall market.
IDC believes that even though demands on MSEs to increase storage
capacity are tremendous, the typical Midsize Enterprise faces a
pricey dilemma of how to manage and protect all that data without a
corresponding increase in headcount.
According to NetApp’s own research among 1,000 IT managers in 8
different countries in Europe, only 35% of organisations admit to
being fully prepared for the loss of stored data. The survey
produced some stark results including:
- 26% of UK IT managers say that finding the right
personnel is a challenge
- The need for data storage rose by more than 20%
over the last year.
- The main reason for this is the increase in the
flow of documents within organisations, particularly the government
and commercial companies
- 85% take the environment into account when making
purchasing decisions for ICT systems
It is to address such issues that NetApp has launched the two new
devices, the FAS2020 and FAS2050. It says that they are deployment
and auditing services designed to help
simplify data management and maximise existing IT
investments.
Commented Tom Georgens, executive vice president, NetApp, "The MSE,
as we define it, manages dozens of servers…and supports the storage
needs of anywhere between 100 and 1,000 employees. The size and
scope of these businesses pose several challenges. The first is
that they rely on their IT departments-normally staffed by an IT
"generalist" who needs to be a jack-of-all-trades-to keep the
business running and, by default, keep employees productive.
These generalists normally can't invest time to tighten integration
between major applications and the storage platform. The other
challenge is the necessity to reduce overall costs by fully
optimising IT assets. These companies are changing and growing
constantly. They require an
infrastructure that easily expands and scales. Agility is not a
luxury, but a means to survival."
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