IBM in Total launch
Vendor targets TotalStorage offerings at enterprise and corporate users
Big Blue has unveiled two new mainframe-based storage products aimed at both enterprise and corporate end-users.
The TotalStorage DS8000 scaleable low-end series offers end-users virtual storage systems and the ability to consolidate workloads running on smaller systems, according to the firm.
IBM claimed its DS6000 high-end offering provides large system performance and reliability features for a fraction of the cost of rival systems.
Both systems, which were revealed at the recent StorageExpo event in London, will initially be available in December, with plans to ramp up to full sales volumes by early next year, IBM executives said.
Jim Tuckwell, worldwide product manager for storage at IBM, claimed the disk systems will "fundamentally redefine the economics of the storage market".
He added that the low-end product will be available to volume resellers without the need for certification or training.
"We think partners will have fun phoning up EMC clients and offering them something that's twice as powerful and one quarter the size," Tuckwell said.
Nick King, managing director of Apex Systems, was positive about the products, particularly the DS8000.
"I would say the scaleable storage system launch is very much in line with where resellers are focusing on in the mid-market.
"To have a consolidation path in storage links closely with what IBM has been successfully doing in the server market with its x- and iSeries servers," he said.
Josh Krischer, vice-president of enterprise servers and storage EMEA at Gartner, said IBM has "finally arrived" in storage.
"The DS6000 is particularly interesting - IBM has stripped down the high-end enterprise device and made it mid-range. It has the reliability of an enterprise device and the price of a mid-range device. It is like paying for a Mini and getting a BMW."
He added that partitioning and virtualisation capabilities [included in the products] are the "next big thing".