NetApp leans on partners for renewed SME push

NetApp is gearing up for a renewed partner-led push into the small and medium enterprise market with the launch of new, scalable storage hardware and management tools.

The vendor this morning announced entry-level products pitched at IT generalists over storage experts, and introduced lower pricing options on its new FAS2000 lines, which will start at £5,330.

NetApp CEO Tom Georgens said the move was designed to recognise and react to some of the challenges midsize businesses see as a result of tighter budgets.

"We understand customers should not be forced to make a tradeoff between affordability and 'good enough' technology," he said.

"NetApp is ... positioned to help our customers succeed and build a solid foundation that can expand and adapt as their priorities change," added Georgens.

ANS managing director Paul Sweeney added: "Customers know just buying storage is not the point; they look for smart solutions that are easy to handle, help them grow and offer rich functionality at a sound price.

"[This] builds the ground for a new IT infrastructure set for higher flexibility and less management costs," he added.