Managing storage is one of the most burdensome of IT responsibilities. In direct-attached storage environments, the process of managing storage is multiplied by the number of storage devices in the organization. With storage networking, storage management is consolidated to a single point from which an IT manager can partition, allocate, expand, reassign, and backup storage.

Bottom Line - Simplified management and increased flexibility with Nimbus Unified IP Storage solutions accelerate IT responsiveness to new storage needs, improving productivity and maximizing uptime.

Storage on an IP SAN can be expanded on-the-fly using unused capacity from the storage pool or new storage systems. IT personnel can quickly increase the amount of storage allocated to a server as necessary. Storage can also be instantly reallocated to a different computer if a server goes down. Since the storage is networked, it can be shared among multiple servers, perfect for applications that require clustering. Advanced Nimbus software provides protection against data loss and prevents costly outages, paying for itself even if it helps eliminate just one outage per year.

Bottom Line - Downtime puts businesses and their customers at risk, and Nimbus Unified IP Storage solutions provide valuable insurance against lost revenue and productivity.

With the security and safety of information more critical than ever before, organizations are looking to replicate data offsite as a precaution against disaster and to meet regulatory requirements. Unfortunately, such solutions often cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, leaving small and midsize organizations without a safety net for their equally vital data. Nimbus Unified IP Storage systems and software provide organizations of all sizes with a robust disaster recovery solution.

Bottom Line - Offsite data replication provides organizations with a cost-effective way to assure employees and shareholders of the safety of their data.

By consolidating storage with Nimbus Unified IP Storage solutions, organizations can simplify their backup procedures. Centralized storage means quicker backups with greater reliability. In addition, Nimbus systems can be used as backup devices themselves, enabling low-cost disk-to-disk (D2D) backup. Disk-to-disk backup dramatically cuts backup windows and restore times, paying for itself almost immediately through reduced downtime.

Bottom Line - Backup and restore operations remain a top challenge for businesses, and disk-to-disk solutions increase backup performance and cut restore times.

By moving to a Nimbus Unified IP Storage solution, organizations can expand their storage infrastructure much more easily. When additional capacity is needed, simply add additional Nimbus Storage Expansion Modules (SEMs). Scaling one storage infrastructure is also much more cost-effective than constantly adding smaller, direct-attached storage devices. The unparalleled performance of the Nimbus Breeze systems also provide higher speed storage access than internal disks.

Bottom Line - With rapid and unpredictable data growth, on-demand expansion maximizes IT dollars without high upfront costs or downtime.

When storage is directly connected to a computer, only that computer can use that storage capacity, even if other storage systems have ample unused capacity. This inefficiency results in storage utilization rates below 40% in most organizations. In a shared storage environment, the storage capacity is centralized and allocated to computers from a unified, easily expandable storage pool. The allocation is flexible and dynamic, resulting in utilization rates above 80%.

Bottom Line - Increased utilization reduces storage hardware costs and increases the return on hardware investments.