EMC Corporation announced today that Dana Network and Computer Services, an information technology organization of Dana Corporation, has purchased an EMC Symmetrix Enterprise Storage system, and EMC`s Enterprise Storage Platform (ESP), Symmetrix Data Migration Services (SDMS), and EMC TimeFinder software to gain more flexibility and control over its rapidly growing information assets and applications environment. Dana Corporation is an $8.3 billion global supplier of vehicular and industrial components and systems. "The flexibility of EMC Enterprise Storage is helping us manage the expanding information opportunities and capabilities of the mainframe," said Gary Zarend, Dana`s Manager of Systems Management. "One huge advantage of EMC`s Symmetrix ESP software is that mainframe and open systems data can reside on a single Symmetrix system. The flexibility of EMC technology translates into significant investment protection. We can easily add or change platforms to support growth and new applications using the same EMC technology." To consolidate its mainframe data onto Symmetrix, Dana used EMC`s SDMS solution to migrate 230 gigabytes of mainframe data residing on IBM 3390 Model 2 devices to the EMC Symmetrix system in a single four-hour event. As a result of this migration, Dana`s Network and Computer Services operation now stores nearly all of its mainframe and open systems data on EMC Symmetrix systems. The EMC Symmetrix systems support new and existing applications running on Dana`s new IBM CMOS mainframe. "The performance of SDMS and the EMC people who assisted us were outstanding," Zarend said. "The four-hour timeframe we had to move all of this data was a critical window for us, and any disruption could have had a very negative effect. The alternative migration methods that were available would have cost substantially more in time and staffing resources, and posed a higher risk." Added Zarend, "As a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week operation, we also needed to extend the superior availability of EMC open storage solutions to the mainframe. Since moving our mainframe data over to Symmetrix, one internal customer reported that their night batch processing window has been reduced by 25 percent. This gives us more opportunities to correct any problems before our online operations kick in." Dana also will use EMC TimeFinder software to create mirrored copies of its production databases. "Users will perform queries against the TimeFinder copy of the database, rather than the database itself," Zarend said. "This way, performance and availability of the production database are not compromised and people can still get the information they need. We`re also looking into how this approach could be applied to our `Year 2000` testing environment so that we could test a full copy of the environment, rather than just pieces of it." Initially, the Symmetrix ESP system will support Dana Network and Computer Services` IBM CMOS mainframe running corporate accounts receivable, leasing, EDI, and distribution applications. Dana also relies on an EMC Symmetrix 5500 system that provides consolidated storage to Hewlett-Packard and Windows NT servers equipped with Oracle relational database software. This system supports PeopleSoft human resources and payroll, corporate accounts payable, data warehousing, EDI, Management Resource Program, electronic mail, and Intranet applications. Bob Dutkowsky, EMC`s Executive Vice President of Markets and Channels, said, "Dana recognizes the challenges of the explosion of information in its computing environments. EMC`s Enterprise Storage systems and software solutions provide businesses like Dana with the tools and technology they need to effectively manage their growing information resources and respond quickly to inevitable changes."
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