IDC: High-end storage stalls in second quarter
IDC reports a lull in high-end enterprise spending in its quarterly disk tracker, with new growth lower in the market; Seagate plans encrypted 1 TB disk drive for PCs.
IDC quarterly disk tracker shows high-end storage lull
Some storage vendors, most notably Network Appliance (NetApp), have been pointing to a slowdown in U.S. IT spending this year, particularly at the high end of the market, as an explanation for missing financial targets. This week, a third-party group has come out with market research that backs up that claim. According to IDC's quarterly disk tracker, the analyst firm has seen a lull in U.S. enterprise spending on systems over $300,000 in the second calendar quarter of this year, which it attributes to users' storage consolidation efforts in 2006. Meanwhile, lower in the market, small and mid-sized business (SMB) storage systems are showing signs of growth, according to the report, with iSCSI in particular showing a 57% year-over-year surge in sales.
EMC, which said it had seen IT spending solidify in the second quarter and reported record results, was shown taking share in many of IDC's categories, most notably network attached storage (NAS) revenue share with 38.5% over NetApp's 27%. NetApp continued to beat out EMC in iSCSI with 21.3% share compared to EMC's 16.8%. Dell had the largest increase in storage revenue in the second quarter, showing a 23.8% year-over-year jump.
Seagate announced plans for a self-encrypting 1 terabyte (TB) desktop hard drive, as well as a new 250GB 2.5-inch notebook drive. The Barracuda FDE (full-disc encryption) is a 3.5-inch, 7,200 rpm desktop drive with AES encryption. Accessing the drive requires a preboot user password, and it supports smart cards and biometrics. This drive is on track to ship in 2008, according to Seagate. The Momentus 5400.4 with a 5,400 rpm hard drive uses capacity-boosting perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) and has a SATA II 3 Gbps interface. It's expected to ship in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Speaking of encrypted disk drives, in a separate release, WinMagic reported that the State of North Carolina has chosen its SecureDoc disk encryption for 50,000 desktops, 13,000 laptops and 1,000 mobile devices. According to a WinMagic press release, the state selected its product because it allows each state agency to manage its own key escrow.
The Planet launches dedicated backup server
The Planet, the world's largest privately held hosting company, launched a new backup option for its application hosting customers. The new offering is priced close to a typical hosted server, but includes up to 1.5 TB of DAS on a Dell server running R1Soft's CDPServer backup software. A 500 GB configuration is priced at $279 per month, 1 TB at $309 and 1.5 TB at $399.
Vendors add Mac support
Atto announced that it is providing new releases of its Xtend SAN iSCSI Initiator for Mac OS X. The company's iPBridge product, which allows iSCSI connectivity to both SCSI and Fibre Channel storage, is also compatible with Mac OS X.
In a separate announcement, multimedia storage integrator Apace Systems announced its XOL Solution Suite, which automates workflow for archiving and online storage for Apple Final Cut Pro Editing workgroups.
Open-E speeds up iSCSI software
Open-E announced version 1.3 of its iSCSI SAN management software, which includes new performance optimizations the company claims can speed iSCSI connections by 30%. It also supports 4 Gbps initiators and targets from QLogic, allowing users to use Multipath-I/O and modify block size on Fibre Channel target volumes to tune up performance, as well as synchronous replication for NAS and Fibre Channel.
Imation beefs up Odyssey disk cartridge
Imation announced a new version of its Odyssey removable hard disk cartridges in an expanded 160 GB capacity for SMBs and home users. The new product is priced between $189 and $299, based on capacity for an external USB docking station, Odyssey cartridge and EMC Retrospect software.
Adaptec touts two-port controller
Adaptec announced the availability of a new two-port controller for connecting storage to PCI Express (PCIe) equipped Windows and Linux computers. The Adaptec 1225SA is targeted at SOHO networks using external DAS. Manufacturer's suggestion retail price is $75.
SanDisk announces memory cards for the Third World
SanDisk announced the uSSD 5000 solid-state drive, which can be used as a cheaper and more durable substitute for hard disk drives in sub-$250 PCs. The drive will go into the Intel Classmate PC, intended for educational markets in developing countries. In a separate release, SanDisk announced it is also shipping an 8 GB flash memory stick to phone manufacturers for testing and evaluation in mobile phones.
3PAR, Double-Take branch out with new business units
3PAR announced a new wholly owned federal subsidiary, 3PAR Government Systems Inc., which is meant to focus on sales to the government space and is based out of its Washington, D.C., metropolitan office. Existing 3PAR government customers include the Department of Justice, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, National Institutes of Health, U.S Army, U.S Air Force and U.S Census Bureau.
In a separate announcement, Double-Take announced it's started its own new business division, Double-Take Recovery Consulting Services, which will offer programs that will include disaster recovery planning and VMware installation services.
Atempo bags $22M
Backup software vendor Atempo announced that it has raised $22 million in Series B funding. New investors include Intel Capital, which led the round, Steelpoint Capital Partners and Ridgewood Capital. The money will be put into research and development, and expanding sales efforts, the company said. Atempo claims 3,000 customers worldwide.
CommVault and Clearwell team on e-discovery
CommVault and Clearwell Systems announced a joint marketing agreement that will see both companies push a combination of CommVault's Simpana Archive that includes data classification, records management and search, and the Clearwell Intelligence Platform, which adds analysis and legal review features.
