IBM “Shark” Enterprise Storage Server the Right Solution for Explosion of e-business Data, Says IDC White Paper
San Jose, CA (November 09, 1999) – In a white paper issued today, research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) identifies the growing need for companies to focus on enterprise storage management as a top IT priority. IDC analyst John McArthur cites IBM’s Enterprise Storage Server — code-named “Shark” — as a solution to help companies cope with the explosion of data as they transform to e-businesses. The white paper can be accessed via IBM’s Web site at http://www.ibm.com/storage/hardsoft/products/ess/idcreport
IDC expects the disk storage hardware equipment business will grow 14.5 percent in 2000 to $34.3 billion, compared with $30 billion, or 11.5 percent growth in 1999. As the demand for enterprise storage solutions grows, IDC finds that most companies are unprepared to deal with this huge increase in stored data. “Traditional approaches to storage management inhibit the ability of companies to react quickly and will fail companies in times of extremely rapid change. The acceleration in the rate of business change requires an enterprise storage strategy. Enterprise storage solutions such as IBM’s Enterprise Storage Server create an information delivery platform that provide the needed flexibility to adapt in times of rapid change,” says McArthur.
The Enterprise Storage Server is designed to exploit IBM leadership in storage technologies to meet the growing data management needs of enterprise customers. Built on the foundation of IBM’s Seascape1 Storage Enterprise Architecture, the product is the industry’s most advanced disk storage system and is based on an intelligent storage server concept, unlike more limited competitive offerings. “IBM’s storage philosophy has always focused more on the management of data than the static storage of information,” said Ron Kilpatrick, general manager of IBM’s Storage Systems Division. “We’ve engineered the Enterprise Storage Server to be technologically innovative and priced very competitively. The Enterprise Storage Server is the ideal blend of hardware and software technology and brings customers all the benefits of centralized storage management as outlined in the IDC white paper.”
“Since it became generally available in late September, customers have embraced the leadership technology embodied in the Enterprise Storage Server,” added Kilpatrick. “We’ve made it clear we intend to regain leadership in disk storage and the way our customers are accepting this new solution, we know we’re on the right path. In its first 30 days of availability, 30 of the world’s 100 largest companies took delivery of an Enterprise Storage Server. And that acceptance rate is growing daily as more companies see the performance gains and increased manageability they can realize by implementing an IBM storage solution.”
Source: IBM