“When Hitachi decided to offer a heterogeneous storage virtualization product, it made a smart move. Unlike competitors that started from scratch to write new controller software, it chose instead to add external storage support to its most robust, most highly featured, most market proven storage array. As a result, it has no direct competition for its integrated heterogeneous virtualization features in the high-end storage array market.”—"Storage Virtualization: HDS Universal Volume Manager," by Robert E. Passmore, Gartner.
Hitachi Data Systems maintains that its controller-based virtualization technology offering is the simplest yet most robust way to implement virtualization in today's storage environment. Organizations benefit from years of development with an already mature set of storage services feature set that is now also available to externally attached storage arrays.
The Hitachi intelligent tiered storage architecture provides the ability to classify data and then move it to the right tier of storage efficiently and non-disruptively, ensuring applications are always available. Data can be moved seamlessly between the different tiers with a logical layer of management and control.
Any-to-any replication, seamless data migration and centralized data management are all easily in reach when using Hitachi virtualization solutions. A single set of management tools that make it easy to perform snapshot, migration, archival, backup and replication of data across heterogeneous storage systems, even from mainframe systems to lower cost SATA storage, are available today from Hitachi.
Instead of requiring extra hardware layers in the form of management servers, application blades, new switches, and separate management software, Hitachi virtualization is easily deployed by enabling an existing software key within its Universal Storage Platform or Network Storage Controller. It's that simple.
As Tony Asaro, Senior Analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group states,"What you may have missed is that storage virtualization is more than just a product or a feature. It is ESG’s view that storage virtualization will be foundational and core technology for all storage environments in the not too distant future. As each day goes by, Hitachi gains greater insight, knowledge, experience, and customer footprint, and is becoming a leader in storage virtualization while leveraging its flagship USP storage system solutions. It is a brilliant strategy and visionary in scope. One day, the rules of the game WILL change and Hitachi will be well-positioned. At that point, its competitors may very well be rubbing their heads wondering what the heck happened".
Get the details from the ESG report
