Ciena bridges the compliance gap
EMC to resell storage extension platform for remote backup
Network specialist Ciena announced last week that storage giant EMC will resell its CN 2000 storage extension platform and Online Metro multi-service DWDM platform through its Select channel programme.
The two companies aim to exploit the opportunity created by compliance recommendations that enterprises back up their data centres onto remote sites.
Shifting massive amounts of data across wide area links will be expensive for enterprises, claimed Angus Flett, channel sales director at Ciena.
"Any company that can help them save money on this operation can win business. We sell boxes that compress data and enable people to transfer more data while spending less on comms," he said.
Under Basel compliance recommendations in the US, retail banks must ensure that a data centre is backed up onto a site at least 100 miles away to protect it against terrorist attacks. Similar pressure in the UK will create the need for enterprises to find workable long-distance off-site storage systems, Flett added.
EMC will offer the CN 2000 and Online Metro to channel partners developing solutions that require extended SANs, remote disk mirroring, remote backup, or the extension of other applications over distances from tens to thousands of miles.
Tom Joyce, senior director of the EMC Select programme, said: "Storage extension platforms are increasingly critical. Customers need a complete storage solution that allows them to back up entire data centres and applications over significant distances around the clock. They need to do this to comply with regulations governing many industries, particularly finance.
"These new products make the whole operation far more convenient and make it easier to deploy over long distances."
Bill Koss, vice-president of global alliances and partners at Ciena, claimed the partnership will broaden Ciena's reach into the enterprise sector.
"Instead of being a broad generalist, we will use partners such as EMC to reach a wider audience," he said.
"This arrangement allows us to maximise value for Ciena, our resellers and their mutual customers."