HP Essentials targets end-users' suite spot
Offering aims to bridge gap between server and storage management
Hewlett-Packard (HP) has unveiled a new suite of storage resource management software, which it has claimed will help cut the costs of end-users' server and storage environments.
Storage Essentials is the first offering to come from an OEM deal between HP's StorageWorks division and SAN vendor AppIQ, to collaborate on engineering and product development.
HP also said Storage Essentials is its first storage offering under its roadmap for a unified server and storage management architecture. The software attempts to bridge the gap between server and storage management often seen in end-users' data centres.
"The rationale behind this product is to strip the cost out of the server and storage environment. There will be a mixture of channel-based and direct sales," said David Smith, enterprise and storage manager at HP.
Smith added that resellers will benefit from the ability to simplify end-users' data centres and wrap extra services around the basic software product.
"The channel can help customers move to a more simplified data management centre. They will be able to wrap a number of services around it," he said.
Storage Essentials is a suite of standards-based plug-ins that integrate with HP Systems Insight Manager, a cross-server and storage management platform that the vendor includes for free with server and storage systems.
Sue Richards, managing director of VAR EBM, agreed that Storage Essentials offers benefits for the channel. "Anything that simplifies the server environment is a great advantage to SMEs, because often security is their main preoccupation," she said.
"There's so much going on around storage at the moment. If it saves money, time and headaches, then the SME will be interested."