Affordable SAN Solutions

Storage areas networks (SANs) have been part of the enterprise landscape for years, but new products aimed at the SME is putting the technology within reach of companies with smaller pocketbooks, writes eChannelLine.

Before recommending a SAN solution for a client, providers should keep in mind the company's budget, applications, workload, and projected growth.

The Dell EqualLogic PS5000E iSCSI SAN array, supporting up to 16 Sata or SAS drives per chassis and available with single or dual controllers, is one of the possible solutions worth investigating for the SME market.

Allen Falcon, President of Horizon Information Group, has unveiled a blog focusing on cloud Computing for SMEs, according to NewsReleaseWire.

'Footprints in the Cloud' will keep SMEs current on cloud computing trends and realities, and how SMEs can reduce their footprint and cost of computing.

"SMEs have a unique opportunity to change how they acquire applications and systems, and how they manage data. Lower hard and soft costs, richer feature sets, and greener computing are all benefits when cloud computing is done properly," notes Falcon.

Microsoft and Google recruited a new sales force of sorts - a network of business counsellors and IT trainers, partly funded by the French government, reports NetworkWorld.

The companies have struck an agreement with the government allowing them to promote productivity tools such as Web analytics, document sharing and unified communications, including their own product offerings, through a government-backed IT training plan for SMEs.

The government wants to help the country's small businesses use IT to increase sales and become more profitable. Last month it renewed the programme intended to achieve that, 'Passport for a digital economy,' for a further three years.