FalconStor grants top-tier licence to EMC

Tape virtualisation components licensed for Clariion disk library

EMC has licensed tape virtualisation components of FalconStor Software's IPStor software for its Clariion disk library, released at the beginning of April.

But FalconStor insists the move will not affect its existing resellers because EMC's disk library is only for mid- to high-end customers.

"We are certified with all sorts of disk manufacturers and system integrators," Guillaume Imberti, FalconStor's president and general manager of EMEA operations, told CRN.

"This is a true endorsement of FalconStor's technology, and is one of several top-tier agreements announced in the last quarter. But we are more mid-market, so it is not competing with our resellers."

Tony Ruane, sales and marketing director at FalconStor reseller RedStor, agreed. "I don't see EMC as a competitor," he said. "The fact that it has chosen to adopt this technology is a great endorsement and it is only a tiny fraction of what FalconStor provides."

Other major OEMs, including Hitachi Data Systems and Sun, are already using FalconStor components with more agreements to follow, he said.

However, one OEM that will not receive the software is Dell.

The direct vendor, which has an agreement with EMC for its entire Clariion range, has decided not to sell the disk library at this time, said Nigel Ghent, marketing director UK at EMC, although he did not rule it out in the future.

"End-users cannot buy the Clariion disk library through Dell, but they can buy from our other channel partners," he said. Ghent added that as the product was a mid-tier device, it was most likely that only top-end VARs and system integrators would sell it.

"This deal gets us into a space we have not been in before. It brings the benefits of disk technology to the traditional tape backup and restore environment," he said.

The library is purpose-built for backup and restore only.

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