Dell's storage system helps SMBs handle data deluge

SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Exponential data growth affects businesses of all sizes, but Dell CEO Michael Dell believes the IT industry has under-served small and medium-sized business (SMB) customers in meeting their storage needs.

Speaking at an SMB customer town hall recently, Dell said: "Growing businesses are quickly reaching a breaking point in their ability to store and manage all this data being created. Historically, the industry has presented SMBs with two options for storage: either buy a rudimentary storage solution that lacks capacity and basic software or buy a 'de-featured' product originally designed for large businesses. So it either doesn't do enough, or it costs too much. We will change that."

Dell introduced the company's newest storage area network (SAN) array, the MD3000i, a simplified storage consolidation solution designed specifically for SMB customers.

"We are committed to simplifying IT for our customers and changing the economics of storage," he explained. "The MD3000i is a perfect example of how we drive out costs, drive up functionality, and drive industry adoption of technologies and standards to meet customer needs."

According to Steve Duplessie, senior analyst with Enterprise Strategy Group: "The storage industry always reacts to new 'lower-end' market opportunities by taking their high-cost products and dumbing them down so they can reach a lower price point. They do this to protect their high-end customer who pays a premium for high-end function, but the end result is always disappointing to the new market."

SMB customer pain points

Data growth continues unabated, yet research shows less than 20 percent of small businesses and less than one-third of medium-sized businesses use advanced storage technologies such as SANs. While 41 percent of small businesses say expanding storage capacity is a top priority for the next 12 months, Fibre Channel SANs are seen as too costly, too complex, and require special skills that many SMBs do not have.

Delivering simplicity and performance to SMB Storage

The Dell MD3000i is an easy-to-use, expandable iSCSI SAN array leveraging the modularity and availability of the Dell Modular Disk series. It provides a simplified solution - from installation to ongoing maintenance and management to powerful performance and the ability to grow as the business grows.

"iSCSI is a breakthrough technology revolutionizing storage for SMBs," said Darren Thomas, vice president and general manager, Dell Storage. "The MD3000i delivers features that a few years ago would have only been found on systems costing five to 10 times more. Complexity is the bane of the SMB customer's existence, and iSCSI cuts right through it."

"At Dell, our goal is to provide the SMB customer with a complete iSCSI-based infrastructure. This includes our PowerEdge servers, our PowerConnect network switches and PowerVault storage options that are all designed specifically for iSCSI. This solution makes it easier for our customers to get and grow the capacity they need," said Thomas.