Articles
Imation Launches Industry's First Fully-Equipped Independent SAN Solutions Lab and New Storage Assessment Service
October 5, 2000
"As companies experience dramatic increases in the amount of data storage, they need independent advice on the design and implementation of new storage solutions," said Steve Ladwig, Senior Vice President, Imation Corp., and President, Imation Data Storage and Information Management. "With the launch of our SAN Solutions Lab and Storage Assessment offerings, Imation is uniquely positioned to provide an independent assessment of a customer's storage infrastructure and recommend a go-forward strategy based on the specific business needs of that customer."
According to the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA), as companies consider the steps in deploying a storage area network, the options can become increasingly complex. "The customer faces challenges on every front, from the type of fiber optics and manufacturer selection, to deciding the right type of SAN architecture and long term enterprise storage strategies," said Tom Clark, Interoperability Committee Chair, SNIA. "It is at this point that a customer truly understands the value in actually testing configurations for standards-compliance, interoperability and performance. An independent advisor like Imation can perform these tasks, accelerate SAN deployment and enable the customer to maximize its investment."
Imation SAN Solutions Lab
The Imation SAN Solutions Lab allows customers to evaluate the interoperability and software configurations from multiple vendors. With equipment from more than 30 manufacturers, it is designed to offer customers the independent expertise, equipment and facilities they need to test and validate SAN architectures without putting their existing production environment at risk. The SAN Solutions Lab can support multiple customers simultaneously while maintaining the integrity and security of each testing scenario. Imation's SAN Solutions Lab, located at the company's headquarters in Oakdale, Minn., allows customers to perform testing in the Imation SAN Solutions Lab or via the lab's remote access capabilities.
"The Imation SAN Solutions Lab augments our own interoperability testing facility and enables us to deliver more comprehensive and technically proven solutions to our customers," said Gary Johnson, Senior Director of Consulting Services, Computer Network Technology (CNT). "As we continually test solutions from other leading storage system and SAN vendors, we rely on Imation to ensure these technologies are available at one site."
The Imation SAN Solutions Lab offerings include: -Interoperability Testing: Imation's SAN Solutions Lab offers customers the ability to test nearly any multi-vendor configuration.
-Proof of Concept: Without disrupting a company's internal IT infrastructure, Imation's SAN Solutions Lab allows customers to validate whether a proposed SAN architecture will meet their business objectives.
-Performance Verification: The Imation SAN Solutions Lab allows customers to test the actual performance throughput of various configurations.
"Today's customers are looking for an unbiased storage architecture solution that delivers tangible benefits," said Terry Mikkelson, Senior Account Executive of VERITAS. "Imation SAN Solutions Lab provides the opportunity for customers to identify key architectural strengths and weaknesses, as well as assess the risks prior to SAN implementation."
Imation Storage Assessment
Imation's Storage Assessment provides an in-depth, unbiased evaluation of a customer's current storage practices and infrastructure by comparing the existing storage model to industry best practices and prioritizing future data storage needs. The Imation Storage Assessment includes an in-depth review of backup and restore, storage monitoring and management, storage architecture flexibility, and disaster tolerance and recovery models. Working directly with a customer's IT team, Imation storage consultants identify the strengths, weaknesses and future storage needs of a company's storage infrastructure and recommend solutions to accommodate storage growth.
"With storage rates doubling annually for many companies, customers are challenged with how to manage their current storage infrastructure, as well as anticipate and meet the storage needs of tomorrow," said Bill Peldzus, Technology Manager, Imation Corp. "Based on our comprehensive analysis of both business and IT requirements, Imation can help customers maximize their current storage architecture and transition into new storage technologies."
Additional Storage Consulting Services
Imation's existing consulting services include the Library Assessment and Media Migration Strategy. The Imation Library Assessment is designed to identify a data center's key tape library challenges and provide recommendations for storage growth solutions. The Imation Media Migration Strategy service is a comprehensive analysis of a customer's business storage system requirements – including media, drives and libraries – and recommends a migration strategy to meet those specific needs. For more information and a list of SAN Solutions Lab vendor equipment visit www.imation.com or contact Imation at (800) 883-9891.
