SCIENCE

EMC Corporation has introduced the EMC Cloud Tiering Appliance, enabling storage administrators to more-effectively and simply manage their file-based unstructured data.  The Cloud Tiering Appliance delivers a simple and cost-effective solution for implementing a tiered storage strategy that aligns the value of an enterprise's information with the most appropriate -- and cost-effective -- tier. Additionally, Cloud Tiering Appliance integration with EMC VNX unified storage extends the simplicity, efficiency and power of VNX storage to clouds. The Cloud Tiering Appliance enables EMC VNX as the first and only unified storage system to automatically tier data to the cloud based on IT established policies while providing comprehensive automated tiering within a storage system.  

EMC's robust tiering strategy allows data to be tiered:

• Directly to public, private, or hybrid clouds. Clouds, such as the Atmos-powered AT&T Synaptic Storage as a Service, and Atmos private clouds  within an enterprise data center can now exploit the cost advantages of tiering cold data to a cloud.
• Within a VNX unified storage system with EMC's Fully Automated Storage Tiering  Suite (FAST Suite).  FAST Suite delivers VNX performance optimization, automated data management, and reduces both capital and operational expenses.
• Between storage systems, for example archiving to Data Domain or migrating from NetApp storage or EMC Celerra® storage onto EMC VNX unified storage. Additionally, EMC will enable customers to migrate data from NetApp storage to Isilon storage later this year.

This combination provides customers the most comprehensive tiering solution in the market today. EMC is enabling customers to:

• Reduce capital expenses by lowering their total cost of ownership through the automatic moving of inactive data to lower cost tiers of storage -- or the cloud. Additionally, aligning storage with data access and retention requirements, while reclaiming primary storage maximizes existing storage investments.
• Lower operating expenses by providing complete transparency to the storage administrator and end users with automated, administrator-defined policies that run on a defined schedule. Files appear unmoved to end-users and can be immediately recalled.
• Improve performance by allowing organizations to shorten backup windows. It does this through complementing an organization's backup strategy, removing inactive files from backup process. Additionally, by freeing up space on primary storage IT can optimize primary storage performance.

Supporting Quote

"AT&T Synaptic Storage as a Service(SM) is a storage-on-demand offer that provides enterprise customers with control over the storage, distribution and retrieval of their data from virtually any location, anytime, using Web-enabled devices," said Steve Caniano, Vice President, Hosting and Cloud Services, AT&T Business Solutions. "Supporting the new EMC Cloud Tiering Appliance can make it easier and more cost-effective for AT&T Synaptic Storage as a Service customers to manage their 'cold' information and easily recall that information when they need it."

Industry Analyst Quote

"IT managers are still exploring how to exploit the various cost and efficiency benefits of the cloud. The potential beauty of the cloud -- in its purest sense -- is its flexible, cost-efficient and on-demand nature. With this announcement EMC is adding a further intriguing and necessary piece to solving the overall cloud puzzle by extending the ability to automatically tier 'cold data' to the cloud, in a manner that's integrated with regular IT operations -- hence easing users' ability to get data where it belongs, with better alignment between its business value and storage costs," said Mark Peters, Senior Analyst at the Enterprise Strategy Group.

EMC Executive Quote

"Optimizing performance, operational expenses and capital expenses continue to be top of mind for customers. There's no better way to achieve all three than tiering data. EMC continues to innovate technologies that automatically map data to the most appropriate and cost-effective storage -- and now we're extending that off-premise to the cloud with the Cloud Tiering Appliance and EMC VNX. This announcement rounds out EMC's tiering options for customers -- continuing to lead the market with solutions that are ready to address the new demands of big data and cloud," said Rich Napolitano, President, Unified Storage Division at EMC..

Availability

The EMC Cloud Tiering Appliance is available worldwide. The ability to migrate data from NetApp to Isilon storage using the EMC Cloud Tiering Appliance will be available later this year.