Disk-based backup solutions are growing in popularity over traditional tape-based backup solutions, especially when it comes to the SMB and midrange business spaces.
Most vendors have reported an increased interest in disk-based backup arrays, a trend that has been confirmed by a 2005 IDC/Inforworld survey centring on trends in the storage arenas.
The survey cited 60% of the respondents in the SMB sector as either currently using disk-based backup or making plans to deploy disk-based backup devices over the coming year.
"As you move up the food chain to medium-sized organisations, the demand for these kinds of disk-based solutions is just as prevalent," says Greg Pothitos, HP product manager at Tarsus Technologies.
"The reason is simple," he adds. "Looking at all metrics, namely total cost of ownership, acquisition cost and reliability, disk-based solutions are proving to be the best route forward."
Pothitos says within the HP portfolio, one product, namely the HP StorageWorks 1000i, taps into these tenets perfectly.
"The StorageWorks 1000i features 1.5TB of usable capacity pre-configured in a RAID 5 environment, so data redundancy and reliability are well taken care of," he says.
"Bolstering this, the 1000i makes use of the iSCSI protocol, allowing it to dovetail into whatever environment the customer may be currently running. It also easily replaces conventional tape-based solutions that may be costing the company money over the long-term in consumables."
Pothitos says the value proposition offered by disk-based backup and the 1000i in particular is exceptional. "For customers embarking on a new backup strategy or updating an existing one, the 1000i has immediate benefits. It offers improved performance over conventional tape, makes use of the same backup software customers would traditionally use for backup purposes and consolidates distributed backups to a single LAN-based device for easier storage management."
Pothitos adds that the inclusion of a disk-based device such as the 1000i by no means excludes the value customers can derive from existing investments in tape devices. "Tape still has a valuable role to play in the equation, fulfilling on the vital need for archival and data lifecycle management."
While the trend towards disk-based backup has already hit international shores and has piqued interest with some of the more forward thinking organisations in the local market, Pothitos says Tarsus is expecting the interest in disk-based backup solutions to increase over the coming year in all sectors of business.
"The great news for customers is that the StorageWorks 1000i is well primed to capitalise on this trend. It`s cost-effective, easy to install and even easier to manage and maintain.
"We`re expecting the StorageWorks 1000i to champion this growing trend in the local market," he concludes.
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With 21 years of experience in the ICT industry, Tarsus is the leading value-added distributor in South Africa, specialising in the supply of the world`s foremost PC and peripheral hardware brands to the local reseller channel.
Tarsus strives to meet the channel`s needs for credit funding, stock availability and efficient logistics, ensuring that resellers are able to deliver the highest quality service to their customers, focus on support and compiling the best overall solutions for their end-user customer base at the lowest possible cost.
The company prides itself on its flexibility, adaptability, knowledge, skills and successful track record combined with an industry-leading ability to manage large rollouts. These are the reasons Tarsus has consistently been rated as the top distributor in the country by international vendors, resellers and the IT media alike.
With its strong commitment to the South African channel, Tarsus is able to not only make the reseller channel more efficient, but more importantly, it plays a vital role in dramatically reducing the costs of doing business in the local ICT market.
Brands represented by the Tarsus stable include industry leaders like Acer, Cisco, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Oki, Samsung, TallyGenicom, Targus and Wyse Technology.
More information about Tarsus is available at http://www.tarsus.co.za.
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