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NetApp-Microsoft collaboration to take SMBs to the cloud
By siliconindia
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Tuesday, 13 July 2010, 17:41 IST
Bangalore: NetApp, a proprietary computer storage and data management company, integrates with Microsoft toolkit to enable service providers to take small- and medium-size businesses (SMBs) to the cloud. NetApp is to deliver enterprise-class data protection solutions to cloud service providers by leveraging the Microsoft Dynamic Data Center Toolkit for Hosters.
In addition, the company has also announced the availability of new professional service offerings and additional resources and guidance for service providers to build a variety of enterprise-class cloud services.
"SMB customers have many of the same disaster recovery and business continuity requirements as large enterprise organizations, but often times don't have the necessary skill set or budget needed to achieve the desired results," said Laura DuBois, Program Vice President, Storage Software and Solutions, IDC. "Solutions that address this gap by providing enterprise-level data protection along with the support and guidance needed to deploy will be integral in helping SMBs realize the true benefits of a cloud infrastructure."
The Dynamic Data Center Toolkit provides sample code and guidance for building cloud services powered by Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V and the Microsoft System Center Suite. These unique solutions enable service providers to expand their service offerings to accelerate their business, while offering and meeting stringent service-level agreements (SLAs) for their customers.
According to John Zanni, General Manager of Worldwide Hosting for the Communications Sector at Microsoft, SMBs are demanding enterprise-class disaster recovery solutions, and hosting service providers are in a tremendous position to fill that demand as more SMBs move toward hosted IT services.
nGenX Corporation, a regional infrastructure-as-a-service provider and joint NetApp and Microsoft customer, leveraged the Dynamic Data Center Toolkit to deliver its Guardian GeoCloud service to its customers. Service providers such as nGenX can now take advantage of the efficiencies inherent in the NetApp and Microsoft solution to make these types of robust services available to smaller enterprises through the cloud at an affordable price.
Along with the announcement of the integration, NetApp has also introduced new consulting offerings and design guidance documentation for Microsoft environments, along with new capabilities to help service providers improve their service level agreement (SLAs).