It’s Time To Get Your Data Storage Under Control.

While users continue to store information at an appreciable rate, the data storage of most corporations is growing, despite a slowed economy - but are you getting the most out of your data storage solution? Clearly, data storage growth this past 12 months slowed for the first time since 1998 reported International Data Corporation. It is true that the price of purchasing storage hardware continues to come down, while other costs of storage, often referred to as hidden costs, continue to rise. The recession did hit the storage hardware players hard, making it a good time to buy for those of you seeking a deal. You only want to buy when you know where your storage requirements are headed or are expected to be in the not too distant future.

The Size of Storage

The need to store information is insatiable. Phone messages for IP-based phones are now being stored in centralized data repositories, and then of course, there’s email. Email is often a company’s lifeblood and arrives with a multitude of attachments. Soon video will continue the proliferation of capacity requirements adding to the explosion of data storage requirements. This is in addition to the five nine needs of the various databases being utilized.

Recently a large airline spent $3 million to build a storage environment. Today they claim they spend three times that much annually to maintain it, including two full time administrators. Now their storage manager says, “we need simplification”. In addition, some companies, EMC for example, charge license fees for software that is based upon the capacity of storage of the array.

The Low Cost of Storage

Storage hardware costs continue to decrease annually, but at the same time the total storage costs are increasing and harbor many hidden pitfalls. All too often, decisions are made for the short term or are made in favor of an incumbent vendor, to the detriment of value and the future. Growth is continuing in the network storage area and is expected to continue in 2002 as reported by IDC. This includes Storage Area Networks (SAN). However, network storage SAN or NAS could turn out to be a significant ongoing management focus for you and your organization if you do not have the right tools in place to manage these systems. A basic SAN is just that, laden with if/then choices. However, you need to be more aware of your organization’s growth and needs moving forward. SANs and network storage in general do require you to consider and project your organization’s growth for the foreseeable future avoiding a headache just waiting to happen. No, really a migraine or worse. Short-term decisions are usually not the best. Know what your storage needs are on a projected basis, from the outset, so your solution will last.

The Control of Storage

You need to seek out flexible systems that include centralized management, virtualization, integrated backup and/or replication for those critical files. Storage vendors, such as Storage Engine (SEI), provide fault tolerant data storage, including to the U.S. Government, offer replicated storage for less than $.10 cents per Mb, and work over VPN connections or fiber environments. Currently, the combination of SAN and NAS makes sense and provides that flexibility that many end users are searching for. Simpler, open, and less expensive seem to be the guiding words of many seeking new storage solutions. Sirrus Satellite, a national satellite radio firm based in New York, recently had these same data storage requirements, while seeking redundancy. They decided to implement a solution utilizing SEI’s product, Synchronism. SEI is one of the few vendors that have delivered on all the requirements of flexibility, lower costs, while delivering uncompromising technology (tools) to aid in the growth of your storage. “We have been pleasantly pleased by how refreshing it is to deal with someone who wants your business to succeed and helps you plan ahead, and provides great service when needed. They (SEI) feels more like a partner than a vendor, unlike their many competitors,” said Joe Zamplione, System Administrator for Sirius Radio. This is the refreshing approach SEI represents, while proving true value. SEI’s Synchronism product can provide a great deal of flexibility to serve the needs of users working to move their business forward cost effectively and with a good partner.

Users Today Need to Stay Open-Minded.

Avoid long-term deals that lock you into one vendor. Always look for open system vendors that will provide you with flexibility, yet accountability. Control your own storage, control you own destiny. Open system solutions enable you to become a free agent to ensure your data is safe. While in the past it may have been easier to choose a big name vendor, today they do not always have the solutions that users require, nor the pricing and flexibility necessary to help you remain competitive.

Dude, You’re Going to Get a Storage Engine.

www.storageengine.com


Storage Engine
powering information access

Storage Engine, Inc., is an industry leader in supplying fault-tolerant solutions that store, protect and manage data in complex networks with greater ease and superior cost savings. The company’s Synchronism™ product line, as well as its Synchronix product line, Synchronection 2, and Raven systems, are all modular units that can be configured and stacked to meet customers' specific and expanding data storage requirements. SEI is ISO-9001 certified and sells its products through its direct sales force and a network of qualified systems integrators.

SEI competes against companies such as EMC (NYSE:EMC), Network Appliance (NASDAQ:NTAP), and Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ:SUNW) among others. The company distinguishes itself in the marketplace via the superior cost/performance ratio of its high-quality, fault-tolerant products. Trademarks mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

For more information, point your Web browser to www.storageengine.com, or call 1-800-322-7462.


This release contains forward-looking statements under the Federal Securities Laws. Actual results could vary materially. Factors that could cause actual results to vary materially include, but are not limited to: component quality and availability, changes in business conditions, changes in Storage Engine’s sales strategy and product development plans, changes in the data storage or network marketplace, competition between Storage Engine and other companies that may be entering the data storage host/network attached markets, competitive pricing pressures, continued market acceptance of Storage Engine's open systems products, delays in the development of new technology, changes in customer buying patterns, one-time events and other important factors disclosed previously and from time-to-time in Storage Engine's filings at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.




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