IBM today announced that HBOC, the world's largest provider of healthcare software has selected IBM's enterprise backup and recovery offerings as the official solution for HBOC's integrated healthcare network customers. The IBM/HBOC business partnership agreement extends into the next millennium and demonstrates IBM's ability to deliver long-term, strategic storage solutions to the enterprise.
IBM's 3466 Network Storage Manager (NSM) already has been installed at HBOC's Corporate Data Centre in Atlanta and now will be offered as the solution to 2800 HBOC customer locations. The 3466 Network Storage Manager, part of IBM's Seascape Architecture for the enterprise, is an intergrated package of leading edge hardware and software technologies, designed to provide enterprise backup and recovery for large volumes of data.
The NSM incorporates IBM's award-winning ADSTAR* Distributed Storag Manager, an automated on-line backup and recovery and software management solution that also will be recommended to HBOC customers as a separate offering, where appropriate.
"We're very pleased that HBOC has chosen IBM as its partner and selected the Network Storage Manager to help manage the growth and complexity of its critical information assets," said Russell J Ricci, general manager of IBM's Global Healthcare Industry. "Integrated solutions like Network Storage Manager aim for one thing ... making our customers' information assets even more valuable to them. HBOC's customers will have the flexibility of using the full Network Storage Manager solution or the ADSM package."
HBOC provides applications systems software to more than 2800 hospitals, and the organization will utilize the IBM solutions in its development work throughout the network. Initially, backup and recovery only will be done at the main corporate facility in Atlanta. Over time, the plan is to look at expanding the effort at all HBOC regional data centres worldwide and at all customer facilities.
"The packaged IBM hardware and software solution was very attractive," said Time Aligheri, HBOC's director of Development Infrastructure, Atlanta, Ga. "No other vendor offered such a solid combined package, with the fast and consistent speed we witnessed with the Network Storage Manager. ADSM on its own provides excellent backup and recovery; as part of the Network Storage Manager, the overall, combined solution is beyond comparison."
IBM's Network Storage Manager is comprised of common storage building blocks that are more cost-effective when integrated than sold separately and assembled. In addition to ADSM Version 3.1, all new models of Network Storage Manager include IBM's scalable intelligent service complex, IBM's leading 7133 Serial Disk System and a choice of IBM's industry leading Magstar tape storage subsystems. The entire Network Storage Manager is connected to the network with any common network connections, such as FDDI, token-ring, ethernet and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM).
In addition to backup and recovery, ADSM also provides archival and retrieval, hierarchical storage management and disaster recovery. ADSM currently offers the broadest range of client/server platforms in the industry. The ADSM product family includes servers on nine different IBM and non-IBM operating system platforms and provides backup/archive capabilities on almost every popular platform.
Data can be stored on a variety of IBM and non-IBM devices including disk drives, stand-alone tape subsystems and tape library systems. ADSM is installed in more than 70 percent of Fortune 100 companies and has more than 400 000 licenses worldwide. ADSM, like the Network Storage Manager, also is a Seascape Storage Enterprise Architecture solution.
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