Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) has continued its European mid-market push with the launch of its new Hitachi Adaptable Modular Storage (AMS) 2000 Series.

The AMS2000 range is available through its two UK distributors, Bell Micro and Zycko.

John Mansfield, senior vice president for global storage solutions strategy and development of HDS said: “In the face of dwindling IT budgets and high energy costs, this is a very powerful value proposition that will enable HDS to accelerate its penetration into the midrange storage market.”

The Hitachi AMS2000 offers storage consolidation for iSCSI, NAS, and Fibre Channel storage area network (SAN) connections.

The AMS2000 comprises three models: the Hitachi AMS 2100, the Hitachi AMS 2300, and the Hitachi AMS 2500.

Richard Carpenter, open storage business unit manager at Bell Micro, said: “Bell Micro has partnered with HDS for about four years and the vendor has previously been known for its high end USP and modular AMS range.

“This new AMS range is built for the SME market. This is the place to be at the moment and the AMS2000 really addresses this arena.”

Carpenter said Bell Micro has signed 20 business partners that focus on modular storage in the last year, as this is a growing area of the market.

Christopher Cuckow, HDS pre-sales consultant at said, Bell Micro UK: "We have been looking forward to testing the AMS2000 as it potentially represents a strong move for Hitachi Data Systems in the mid-range market, and we were not disappointed.”

Mark Peters, analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group, agreed by saying: “Despite the fact that mid-sized businesses and operations have precisely the same challenges as larger ones, all too often the storage industry has met their needs for reduced scale and increased affordability with a significantly compromised feature set.”