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IBM's new data storage system promises cost and energy savings
A new range of storage products announced by IBM on Tuesday aims at helping companies handle the spiralling amount of data created across corporate networks.
- By Scott Shuey, Chief Business Reporter
- Published: 23:39 September 10, 2008
Montpellier, France: A new range of storage products announced by IBM on Tuesday aims at helping companies handle the spiralling amount of data created across corporate networks.
"This isn't about replacing one system with other. This is about filling a space in the market that no one else is offering," said Jim Stalling, IBM's general manager of enterprise systems.
While other major technology companies such as EMC, Hitachi and HP also have technology that manages massive amounts of data, IBM says its system is easier to use and will be more attractive to IT departments faced with rising administration costs and a shortage of skilled talent.
IBM is also offer the system as a "complete package," meaning not only will it store the information and keep it secure, it will also help companies access and retain the data.
IBM estimates that companies are being forced for various reasons - including compliance regulations and security issues - to store more and more data.
Stalling estimates companies are seeing their storage demand grow 40-60 per cent every year, although in some industries, the need for storage is growing at triple-digit rates.
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Authur Vermeer, a technical service director at Tommy Hilfiger, said his company, which needed to store only seven terabytes of financial data just three to four years ago, today requires about 50 terabytes, or about the same amount of information that would fit in almost 1,100 DVDs.
IBM has spent $2 billion and acquired seven technology companies over the past two years to develop the storage technology.
IBM is also marketing the storage system as a way to cut energy costs associated with running and cooling data servers.
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