Security and Storage Advances

EMC Corp. announces new physical security services while Iron Mountain Inc. and Webroot Software Inc. unveiled their online storage security offerings. In other news, Sun Microsystems Inc. touted its entire storage software solutions now support the IBM Corp. System z mainframes.

Focal Points:

• EMC announced it is offering comprehensive physical security assessment and design services, and is partnering with Verint Systems Inc., a provider of IP video security, to implement scalable, flexible and cost-effective physical security solutions. According to company executives, the expanded use of video surveillance and other physical security technologies has created a vast amount of data that is challenging information managers in their efforts to effectively capture, analyze and store security data. To meet this demand EMC is providing three new services. The EMC Assessment for Physical Security identifies customers' business, physical and technology security requirements, analyze the data, identify challenges and obstacles, and present recommendations. EMC is offering these services in conjunction with some of its business partners including British Telecommunications plc, Unisys Corp., and Verint. EMC's Design for Physical Security provides a complete design of a customer's physical security environment including any connectivity to other systems such as access control devices, alarms, cameras and sensors. EMC's Implementation for Physical Security incorporates Verint IP video technologies with the implementation of an EMC Clariion-based storage solution. EMC offers to manage the project and deliver a turnkey solution to the customer, the company stated.
• Iron Mountain and Webroot are expanding their solutions into online storage and data protection services. Iron Mountain's offering, PC Data Backup & Recovery, features automatic online backup, encryption and offsite vaulting of data for distributed servers, PCs and laptops; online recovery of lost or damaged files, via any Internet connection; and automated encryption of sensitive PC files to thwart unauthorized users. The company delivers it as a hosted service or as licensed software. The package also include automatic elimination of files when a system is lost or stolen and a standby e-mail system that can be activated in as few as 60 seconds, allowing users to send and receive messages and access archived e-mail during an outage, according to company officials. Meanwhile Webroot announced an e-mail and Web security software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution that delivers e-mail archiving; image scanning and encryption; and anti-spam, anti-phishing and anti-virus services for protecting e-mail, HTTP Web filtering and other Web-based communications. The base Webroot package, which includes anti-spam, anti-virus, e-mail encryption, content control and unlimited capacity, is available for $2.25 per seat per month. Optional modules such as business continuity, archiving and image filtering are available for additional monthly fees, according to company executives.
• Sun revealed its entire storage software catalog is now available for IBM's System z mainframes. Now that Sun's OpenSolaris operating system has been optimized for the mainframe, Sun has fine-tuned its entire portfolio of enterprise storage software for IBM's System z10s. The catalog includes the Virtual Storage Manager line of virtual tape, tape libraries, access and capacity tape drives, the Sun StorageTek 9990V and 9985V disk systems, and the Shared Virtual Array family of virtualized disks. IBM's latest System z operating system, z/OS v1.9, and industry standard interface protocols, FICON and ESCON, are also supported, the company claimed.

Experton Group believes vendors are seeking to satisfy customer needs and drive added revenues through expansion of their offerings into ancillary markets through combinatory packages with business partners or better leverage of acquired or existing assets. EMC's shift into the physical security arena moves it once again into a market not served by the company but is a logical extension of its strategy. Iron Mountain is a major player in the digital storage space and Experton Group believes its move into PC data backup and recovery will be well received, especially in companies that are interested in outsourcing these services. Webroot's packages will also interest those looking for a SaaS solution for e-mail and Web security and it should be included as one of the potential alternatives, especially if currently using other Webroot offerings. Sun's storage software availability for mainframes is another sign that Sun is looking to aggressively leverage its software and storage assets. This shift is long overdue but will still play well for Sun, as companies that use and like its products will seek to continue the relationship even when changing server platform bases. IT executives should work with their key and strategic vendors to determine where and how they can satisfy customer needs through creative approaches and ancillary first-of-a-kind or custom solutions.