IBM has developed high-k metal gate technology

IBM, Sony, Toshiba and AMD have found a way to construct a critical part of the transistor with a new material, clearing a path toward chip circuitry that is smaller, faster and more power-efficient As important, the technology can be incorporated into existing chip manufacturing lines with minimal changes to tooling and processes, making it economically viable. The achievement is expected to have widespread impact, leading to improvements in electronic systems of all kinds, from computers to consumer electronics. IBM has inserted the technology into its state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing line in East Fishkill, NY and will apply it to products with chip circuits as small as 45 nanometers (billionths of a meter) starting in 2008.

IBM has developed a technology called “high-k metal gate,” substitutes a new material into a critical portion of the transistor that controls its primary on/off switching function. The material provides superior electrical properties compared to its predecessor, enhancing the transistor’s function while also allowing the size of the transistor to be shrunk beyond limits being reached today.

Seagate introduced DAVE technology

Seagate has introduced Digital Audio Video Experience (DAVE) technology. This technology can deliver 10-20 GB of wireless storage in an accessory smaller than many common slim-line mobile phones. DAVE technology is designed to store, play and share digital files on mobile phones, PCs, and other wireless-enabled devices.

The DAVE mobile platform can slips conveniently into a shirt pocket, backpack, or purse up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) from the phone. In addition, the mobile storage platform is open source, enabling third party software developers to create new applications for the mobile phone utilizing the hard drive’s unmatched capacity and performance. The DAVE technology is offered to telcos and mobile handset OEMs for sale under their respective brand names.

Next generation media for broadcasters

Fujifilm today announced the introduction of Fujifilm PD711 for the XDCAM Professional Disc System, a Blu-ray-based optical recording disc for use with Sony XDCAM and XDCAM HD video systems. The Fujifilm PD711 offers 23.3GB capacity on a single disc, very fast transfer rates of up to 144Mbps and an advanced hard coating. The Fujifilm PD711 boasts rewriteable recording material that enables 72 Mbps data transfer per head (144 Mbps with 2 heads) for fast random data access, with certain hardware/software configurations generating rates of 86/172 Mbps.

The discs are optimized for capturing 1080i video and up to four tracks of high quality audio. These discs also allow users to capture large volumes of metadata and record more than 60 minutes of HD video at 35 Mbps, 90 minutes at 25 Mbps and over 120 minutes at 18 Mbps when used in the XDCAM HD system. The high-sensitivity phase change recording material delivers stable recording and playback from the Fujifilm PD711, and discs are readable over 1,000,000 times.

IBM introduces NOC- Inside

IBM has introduced NOC-Inside (Network Operations Center–Inside), a comprehensive, effective and easy to implement and use Automated IT Infrastructure Management Service. NOC Inside, an Automated Service offering with onsite roll-out will enable businesses realize immediate productivity by ensuring enhanced control and agility of their IT Infrastructure. Unlike a remotely managed service offering, NOC Inside has been designed around the assets that IBM-NetSol have developed over the years.

NOC–Inside, a unique automated IT Management service would help businesses by providing a “single view” of their entire IT operations including networks, systems, applications, databases, desktops as well as helpdesk. This unique services package enables businesses to take complete control through end-to-end visibility of their IT infrastructure with minimal integration and operational effort, low level of operational expertise and very attractive operational cost. NOC–Inside, is currently the only available “Integrated and Automated IT Management Services offering in the marketplace.

HP offerings for easier consolidation and virtualization

HP has introduced its StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Array embedded switch from Cisco for HP BladeSystem, it is a network-attached storage (NAS) gateway and advanced encryption for HP Data Protector Software. HP StorageWorks EVA File Services can allow user to consolidate their storage with an integrated, virtualized solution that serves both application (block) and file data concurrently. The new solution can add file services to any new EVA4000, EVA6000 or EVA8000 in Microsoft Windows or Linux environments.

90-NM read channel for disk drives for handhelds

Agere Systems announced that it has begun shipping a new fully functional 90-nanometer TrueStore read channel that features the industry’s lowest power consumption and highest performance within the market for handheld consumer electronics. The TrueStore RC1300 uses half the electrical current required by the previous generation of read channels in this market segment, thereby significantly extending the battery life of electronic devices, such as MP3 players and portable media players, without recharge.

New generation intelligent storage encryption solutions

CipherMax has unveiled the CM100 family of storage encryption products for tape media and disk-based storage networks. The new CM100 product line offers companies a low-cost entry point for immediately implementing storage encryption, while providing the ability to scale up to hundreds of encryption ports when combined with CipherMax CM250 or CM500 systems. The CM product line marks the first storage encryption solution with intelligent features and integrated switching functionality that can be deployed and centrally managed from a single, global interface—a requirement for delivering enterprise-class storage security.

Quantum enhances Scalar libraries

Quantum has announced the integration of its DLT-S4 tape drive within the Scalar iPlatform architecture, beginning with the Scalar i2000 enterprise library. Quantum’s DLT-S4 delivers the industry’s highest available capacity tape and brings value-added manageability and security functionality that complement Quantum’s embedded iLayer technology within the library.

Quantum also announced key firmware enhancements for the Scalar i2000 which, together with the DLT-S4 integration, lower the total cost of ownership and reduce the amount of time enterprise customers spend managing the backup process. By optimizing the integration of its tape libraries and tape drives across its broad product portfolio, Quantum provides unique value to customers of all sizes in meeting their backup, recovery and archive needs.

WD incorporates eSATA for data security

Western Digital announced that its new My Book Premium ES Edition external hard drive incorporates eSATA (external Serial ATA) and USB 2.0. eSATA is a new technology that transfers data between the external device and the computer at higher rates than ever before and USB 2.0 is today’s most common method of connecting external devices to personal computers.

eSATA is designed to connect peripherals such as external hard drives with the same data transfer speed as internal components. Use of eSATA by the computing and consumer electronics industries is increasing with the expectation that its superior performance will drive it to be the next standard interconnect for external devices, offering an obsolescence prevention plan for consumers.

Fujifilm offer improved data protection and organization

Fujifilm has announced an expanded data storage accessory portfolio including the new Fujifilm Data Tape Courier Professional Case for secure transport of data storage media. The case was created and certified to Fujifilm quality guidelines based on customer requests for solutions to help address increasing regulatory requirements on the storage and handling of data.

The Data Tape Courier Pro Case is made of lightweight, industrial-strength high-density polyethylene which, in combination with the heavy-duty lockable clasps and soft interior contact points, creates a tough and secure water-resistant seal around the media. To help IT managers make the most of their data center floor space, the new Fujifilm Data Tape Carousel offers improved organization with an innovative tape rack built exclusively for Fujifilm by Russ Bassett.

Nexsan brings disk-based CAS archive

Nexsan Technologies announced its Assureon SA Archive Appliance, a complete disk-based archiving solution for smaller enterprises, branch offices and departmental groups that need simple and secure archiving capabilities, along with rapid file retrieval of up to 20 million documents, based on searching documents for key words or phrases. Search capabilities of the Assureon SA’s CAS architecture deliver accurate results with de-duplicated results, contextual excerpts and summarization, and highlighted query terms.

Innovative flash memory solution

STMicroelectronics unveiled the 65nm PR family of NOR Flash memory. Based on fourth-generation multi-level-cell (MLC) technology, the 65nm PR family is fully hardware and software compatible with the existing 90nm NOR Flash PR family, providing an easy migration path for customers, while offering increased memory density and improved performance. Meeting the demand of high-resolution cameras, multimedia content, and fast internet connectivity in mobile applications, the 65nm PR family from ST offers up to 133MHz in burst read speed, program throughput of 1.0-Mbyte/sec, and deep power down mode with 1.8V power operation. This advanced NOR Flash family is offered in combinations with LPSDRAM, LPDDR-SDRAM, PSRAM, and NAND devices supporting shared-bus and split-bus configuration in Multi-Chip Packages (MCP) and Package-on-Package (PoP) solutions.

Trust on TrustWatch

SanDisk introduced the TrustWatch integrated suite of applications that transform off-the-shelf USB flash drives from a security threat to a competitive advantage in the enterprise. TrustWatch is built around a secure network appliance and a management console, through which IT administrators can easily configure and deploy secured USB flash drives (UFDs), while preventing information from being copied to unapproved devices. The TrustWatch solution allows the IT department to select from SanDisk’s line of standard flash drives for issue to employees.

HP kicked off entry-class servers

HP has kicked off its entry-class server named Integrity rx2660 entry-class server. The server major also introduced a new version of the HP-UX 11i operating system and new model for BladeSystem c-Class environment, to produce mission-critical virtualization practical for businesses of all sizes. The HP Integrity rx2660 server can meet the growing needs of business applications to address demanding workloads for today and tomorrow.

The HP Integrity rx2660 is the lowest-priced Integrity rack-mount server in the country and is the most flexible and versatile unit in its server class. The new rx2660 is the first Integrity model of entry-class server that will handle robust application tier workloads and is versatile enough for porting, application serving, testing and development.

Brocade’s innovative solution for
Blade Server SAN Switches

Brocade has introduced new capabilities that enable interoperability between Brocade blade server SAN switches and products from other SAN switch and director manufacturers. The new feature, known as Brocade Access Gateway, is the first solution that fulfills Brocade’s commitment to deliver interoperability between Brocade switches and the large installed base of McDATA SANs. Brocade Access Gateway will be available on Brocade bladed SAN switches from HP, IBM, Dell, Fujitsu-Siemens; these new capabilities add further value to blade server environments by improving SAN management and reducing ownership costs.

IBM unveils Linux Web-Tier Consolidation machine

IBM unleashed a new powerful IBM POWER5 processor-based midrange server aimed at dramatically improving IT efficiency and reducing the energy, space and system costs that can accompany the proliferation of x86 Linux servers. Able to handle up to 160 virtual server images at one time per system using the optional Advanced POWER Virtualization (APV) feature, the new 1.8 GHz IBM System p5 560Q (16-core) is the most powerful member of a new family of three web-tier consolidation solutions.

These solutions include the IBM BladeCenter JS21 for Web Serving Farms solution with up to 14 blades per system for the middle and low end; as well as Express Offerings that start with just a single PowerPC processor-based blade or 1U rack system. All three web-tier consolidation solutions utilize IBM’s Advanced POWER Virtualization (APV) to allow up to 10 virtual server images per core. The solutions can be used with Novell’s new Integrated Stack for SUSE Linux Enterprise (ISSLE) for System p, also announced.

IBM, AMD and Novell teams up

IBM recently announced that it is teaming with AMD and Novell to create an integrated Linux offering built around IBM’s next generation Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) data server, code-named “Cheetah.” IBM also revealed that Cheetah has now entered an open beta testing for customers and business partners. The new Linux offering will combine IDS Cheetah, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell and IBM xSeries 3105 highly-scalable servers powered by second-generation AMD Opteron 1000 Series processors to provide new availability and security features in a low cost solution.

AMD promotes Raj N. Master to Corporate Fellow

AMD announced the promotion of Raj N. Master to Corporate Fellow. In this role Master will focus on driving continued excellence in the performance and cost-effectiveness of AMD’s chip packaging technologies. Packaging is the final step in the semiconductor manufacturing process where a wafer is cut and packaged into an individual microprocessor. Master’s areas of expertise include C4 (controlled collapse chip connection), die packaging, assembly and thermal solutions within AMD’s expanding product portfolio. Corporate Fellowship is the highest level of technical recognition at AMD. Master earned his bachelor’s degree from M.S. University, Baroda, India and a master’s degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Missouri.

Sun and Intel announce landmark agreement

Sun Microsystems and Intel Corporation have announced a strategic alliance entered on Intel’s endorsement of the Solaris Operating System (OS) and Sun’s commitment to deliver a comprehensive family of enterprise and telecommunications servers and workstations based on Intel Xeon processors. The scope of the agreement spans Solaris, Java and NetBeans software and Intel Xeon microprocessors. As part of this alliance, Intel has also signed a Solaris OEM agreement it can enable Intel to distribute and support the Solaris OS.

IBM maintains leadership on Blade and UNIX servers

Gartner reported that IBM continues to hold the number one position in worldwide server revenue share, with 32 percent revenue share for 2006. IBM has held this leadership in worldwide server revenue share for 8 consecutive years according to Gartner. IBM’s leadership position in global server revenue in 2006 was bolstered by noteworthy revenue growth in its System z business.

Intel promoted R Ravichandran as South Asia’s Sales Director

In his new role, Ravichandran will be responsible for the overall consolidation of all sales activities in South Asia across channels and OEMs. He will be based in Chennai. Ravichandran has been with Intel for more than 13 years. He is now moving back to Intel India from Intel Technology Asia, Singapore, where he spent the last seven years driving several initiatives to grow the desktop and server platforms business. His last assignment was managing the server marketing function across Xeon and Itanium platforms in the APAC region.

Subodh leads SCO in India and Southeast Asia

SCO Group has appointed Subodh Rustagi as the Country Head for India and Southeast Asia. Subodh will be responsible for launching and marketing Me Inc. mobile technologies as a top brand for mobile computing in India and Southeast Asia and reinforcing SCO as an end-to-end solution provider in various verticals for mobile computing as well as end users. Subodh brings more than 20 years of experience in the IT industry including 5 years as the head of sales for SCO UNIX.

Enhanced technology in Quad-core designs

AMD unveiled more industry-defining architectural features for its upcoming native Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors (codenamed “Barcelona”) during a presentation to the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC). In addition to the estimated 40-percent performance advantage native Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors can offer over the competition in benchmark testing, AMD’s redesigned microarchitecture will enable new power- and thermal-management techniques, strengthening the industry-leading performance-per-watt AMD Opteron processors currently deliver today. Among the new features are enhancements to AMD PowerNow! technology for dynamic adjustment of individual core frequencies.

Microsoft releases SQL Server 2005 SP2

Microsoft Corp. recently released Microsoft SQL Server 2005 SP2, an update to its data management and analysis platform. Customers can now take advantage of enhancements in the familiar and easy-to-use Windows Vista operating system and 2007 Microsoft Office system to easily connect and integrate with the power, security and reliability of SQL Server 2005. In addition, Microsoft announced that it is expanding virtualization use rights
to allow unlimited virtual instances on servers that are fully licensed for SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition. For customers who want maximum flexibility in their use
of virtualization technology, now or in the future, SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition is the ideal choice.

HP tops worldwide blade server market

HP took the No. 1 position in worldwide blade server factory revenue and units shipped, according to fourth calendar quarter 2006 server market figures released by industry analyst firm IDC. HP overtook IBM to lead the blade server market in the fourth quarter with 41.9 percent factory revenue share and 40.0 percent total factory units share, and showed more than ten times the growth of IBM in units and revenue year-over-year. For the 19th consecutive quarter, HP led the worldwide server market in total units shipped, with 31.6 percent share in the fourth quarter.

WD unveiled My Book World

Western Digital introduced the My Book World Edition family of shared storage appliances. This new family of shared storage appliances allows consumers and home office workers to securely access their digital content, such as photos, home videos and documents, and share it with family and friends from anywhere in the world as if that content were stored local to the user. The terabyte (TB) My Book World Edition II model is equipped with a dual-drive configuration and RAID capability. WD Anywhere Access is WD’s new software for simplifying access to digital content and breaking the barriers of physical proximity to that content.

The two models My Book World Edition with 500 GB capacity and My Book World Edition II with 1 TB of capacity are compatible with wired and wireless networks. They come with EMC Retrospect Express backup software; one Ethernet port; one USB 2.0 port to instantly add more storage; intelligent drive management features and LED activity lights.

New version of CA’s BrightStor

CA has released enhanced version of BrightStor Storage Resource Manager (SRM) which can extends its centralized management, automated monitoring and reporting to business information stored in IBM Lotus Domino and DB2 UDB. The new release can effectively protect email and application data in these environments, preventing downtime and enabling IT organizations to save time and money by streamlining management of the storage infrastructure that supports core business services. BrightStor SRM can optimizing the use of storage resources for data protection and application availability.

Buffalo announces two new NAS devices

Buffalo Technology announced the LinkStation Live and TeraStation Live consumer NAS devices. The products are designed to allow users to easily store and distribute multimedia files such as music, media back-ups, family videos and photos around the home. The LinkStation Live and TeraStation Live are cost-effective, high-performance, NAS solutions that deliver superior reliability and usability for consumers. The LinkStation Live is available in capacities of 250GB (HS-DH250GL), 320GB (HS-DH320GL), 500GB (HS-DH500GL) and 750GB (HS-DH750GL). The TeraStation Live is available in capacities of 1TB (HS-DH1.0TGL/R5) and 2TB (HS-DH2.0TGL/R5).

Both the LinkStation Live and TeraStation Live are designed to DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) guidelines so customers can access videos, photos or music stored on them and play it back on any device designed to DLNA guidelines in the home. DLNA is an interoperability standard for the digital home, which enables PC and consumer electronics products to seamlessly work together.

Dell offers easy-to-use affordable solutions

Dell today announced new storage products span both the Dell/EMC and Dell PowerVault product lines to provide a comprehensive and cost-effective storage solution for primary storage and backup. New from Dell/EMC is the CX3-10, an entry-level storage area network (SAN) array with innovative data protection and availability. Supporting iSCSI and Fibre Channel hosts, this array extends the reach of the enterprise-class UltraScale architecture to small and medium businesses. The Dell/EMC
CX3-10 simplifies storage operations by bundling necessary software for failover and management, as well as offering an all-SATA drive configuration for customers seeking bulk storage.

Within its PowerVault line, Dell introduced two new tape libraries - the PowerVault TL 2000 and the PowerVault TL4000. For most customers, tape backup and archiving are integral to a disaster recovery plan. The PowerVault TL2000 and PowerVault TL4000 deliver simplified data protection and the benefits of tape automation at the price points historically held by autoloaders.

IBM launches drive-based tape encryption solution

IBM has introduced the tape library solution offering enterprise-class tape drive-based encryption capabilities at an affordable price point for midrange corporations and enterprise workgroups. The IBM System Storage TS3400 Tape Library brings IBM System Storage TS1120 Tape Drive performance and encryption capabilities to a broader range of tape customers. The TS3400 is designed to provide a small-sized, affordable tape library that offers encryption technology to secure corporate data and protect customer privacy. This functionality can help midsized companies and enterprise branch offices address rapidly expanding requirements for protecting sensitive information.

EMC names Saravanan as VP

EMC Corporation has announced that Arumugam Saravanan has joined EMC as Vice President & Managing Director. Saravanan, a 10-year veteran of Microsoft with substantial technology experience working within organizations in India. At Microsoft, Saravanan held a variety of senior management roles in India, serving most recently as the Managing Director of Microsoft Global Services India. Prior to that, he oversaw Microsoft’s IT’s offshore delivery center and Indian outsourcing activities. Earlier in his career, Saravanan served as Vice President of Technology Services for MashreqBank PSC in Dubai and was a software engineer for Tektronix in the U.S. Saravanan will report to Sanjay Mirchandani.

Sharad Srivastava appointed as Chairman of SNIA India

Storage Networking Industry Association India (SNIA India), announced the results of its recently concluded annual elections for the Governing Council 2007. Mr. Sharad Srivastava, Director Sales (India & South Asia), Western Digital, has been appointed as Chairman, SNIA India. He succeeds Mr. PK Gupta, Director Product Management—Asia-Pacific & Japan, EMC Software, who has had a successful stint in the capacity and will continue to serve the interests of the industry body actively as Chairman Emeritus. Mr. Rahul Gupta, Managing Director, Xserve India Pvt. Ltd., was elected as Vice-Chairman of the industry body by the voting members.

According to Sharad Srivastava, Chairman SNIA India, “We’ve done commendable work in the recent past as far as our education initiative and memberships are concerned. As elected representatives, we shall empower these further. It will be our endeavor to reach out to end-users and vendors, understand their pain points, learn what they expect of us and then deliver the desired. We’ll strive to establish SNIA India as the authority on storage and storage networking.”

Western Digital enhances India Channel Network

Western Digital has added two more distributors to its channel networks Jupiter International, Kolkata and Compuage Infocom, Mumbai, In an enhancement to its channel strategy, WD’s Volume Distribution segment in India can be further divided into the regional and up-country markets to address Resellers and small SI/assemblers. While Venktron Infotech, Champion Computers and Lalani Infotech will continue to focus on regional markets where they have a presence, Jupiter International, Compuage Infocom and Inspan Infotech will address the up-country markets especially B, C & D categories of cities.

Buffalo expanded its operation in India

Buffalo has launched a series of initiatives to drive channel sales in India and expand its service network in the country. The meet was organized in collaboration with Advent InfoTech, Buffalo’s National Distributor in India and attracted over 250 representatives from different parts of the country. Atsuo Shibata, Head Operations India Buffalo Inc, said, “India is a very important market for us and we will be introducing a number of products in the country, this year.

IBM completed acquisition of Consul

IBM has completed the acquisition of Consul risk management international, B.V. privately-held software company head quartered in Delft, Netherlands, with a principal office in Herndon, Virginia. Consul’s operations will be integrated into the IBM Software Group’s Tivoli software brand. More than 350 customers around the world rely on Consul to accelerate their security audit and compliance efforts, including Ford, Kroger, Office Depot, Hanes and Fidelity Bank.

Big step for the storage industry

SNIA (Storage Networking Industry Association) has announced that its Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S) has been designated an International Standard by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electro technical Commission (IEC). This designation is expected to further accelerate the already widespread adoption of the standard by storage vendors and IT users in all markets worldwide. According to P.K. Gupta, Chair of SNIA India, “ISO is a well respected standards body in the India region. Having SMI-S standardized by ISO lends extra authority to the standard and helps in wider acceptance of interoperability standards for storage area networking and systems, which are growing in India at a rate of 70 percent per year. This is a big step for the storage industry in terms of standardization and solving end users’ pain points of managing heterogeneous storage.”

Seagate partners with Fry’s Electronics

Fry’s Electronics has signed a agreement with Seagate to provide Seagate data recovery services through its 33 retail locations. Now Fry’s stores are equipped with a software solution that can allow in-store service technicians to conduct on-site data recovery service assessments and present service price quotations on all brands of hard disc drives. “We are extremely excited to have partnered with a respected computer retailer like Fry’s,” commented Paul Steele, vice president, Sales and Marketing for Seagate Recovery Services.

Decru and RSA will deliver EDP

Decru has signed a partnership agreement with RSA to produce user enterprise data protection (EDP). Decru and RSA are teaming up to directly address this customer challenge, and RSA Key Manager software will be an integral part of the EDP offering to joint customers. Decru DataFort security appliances automate and simplify storage security for heterogeneous enterprise environments. The Decru platform combines encryption, authentication, access controls, auditing, and policy management to provide enterprise-wide security for data at rest.

Dell tops in Magic Quadrant for midrange enterprise disk arrays

Gartner Inc. positioned Dell in the “Leaders Quadrant” of its Magic Quadrant for Midrange Enterprise Disk Arrays, 2006 report, Dell announced today. “Customers recognize the exceptional value received when choosing a Dell storage solution,”
said Brad Anderson, Senior Vice President, Dell Product Group. “Dell will continue to change the economics of storage through its PowerVault product
line and its highly successful partnership
with EMC.”

Gartner defines midrange disk array products as external controller-based redundant array of independent disks that: use a dual controller or cluster architecture; support Unix, Linux, Windows and NetWare environments; offer no mainframe support; have an average selling price of more than $24,999.

Softek acquired by IBM

IBM has signed agreement to acquire Softek Storage Solutions Corporation, a privately held company based in Vienna, Virginia. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Upon completion of the agreement, Softek will become part of the Storage and Data Services business unit in IBM Global Technology Services. The acquisition of Softek is the latest example of IBM’s continuing strategy to blend software, hardware, and research into higher-margin, standardized services that can be used with multiple clients to help them transform their businesses.

Julie Lockner joins the SNIA Data Management Forum

Julie Lockner, vice president of sales operations, Solix Technologies, has been elected treasurer for the Storage Networking Industry Association’s (SNIA) Data Management Forum. The election was effective February 12, 2007. The SNIA Data Management Forum (DMF) is a cooperative initiative of IT professionals, vendors, integrators, and service providers working to address customer information management issues related to data protection, compliance, cost, and complexity. Areas of focus include promoting standardization, interoperability and the development of best practices, to accelerate the deployment of information lifecycle management, data protection, and long term digital archive storage solutions, that enable customer choice and flexibility. The DMF’s content and materials are available via the SNIA-DMF website (www.snia-dmf.org), and delivered through SNIA tutorials sessions at industry events such as Storage Networking World 2007 and Enterprise Information World 2007.

APW President to add innovative manufacturing facilities

APW President Systems has expanded the capacity of its manufacturing unit at Pune from 23,500 sq ft to 43,500 sq feet, including a modern conveyorized Powder Coating facility and flexible processes that will accelerate the delivery of a superior range of enclosure products. The expansion was made possible by acquiring the plot adjoining the existing factory and building a new 20,000 sq ft facility there.

“We already enjoy a leadership position in enclosure systems, and with the completion of this new facility at Pune, we have enhanced our manufacturing capacity in India significantly. With these expanded facilities, the production capacity will go up by at least 50 percent. We have the flexibility to make different types of enclosures, and our product development cycle time will come down substantially,” said E.A. Elias, Managing Director, APW President Systems.

HDS to acquire Archivas

In a strategic move designed to bolster the company’s content services initiative, Hitachi Data Systems today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Archivas, Inc., a digital archiving solutions provider based in Waltham, Massachusetts. News further builds on the existing strategic global product development and distribution agreement forged with Archivas last year. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Dave Roberson, president and CEO of Hitachi Data Systems said, “Hitachi Data Systems’ acquisition of Archivas is a strategic move that drives the evolution of the delivery of sophisticated content management services. Today’s announcement is another result of the increased investment and focus on emerging markets by our Global Solutions Strategy & Development organization led by Jack Domme.”

Imation appoints Thomas Lally as GM of APAC

Imation announced the appointment of Thomas (Tom) Lally to general manager of the Asia-Pacific region, reporting to Frank Russomanno, president, chief operating officer and acting chief executive officer for Imation. The assignment includes leadership of Imation’s Commercial/OEM and Consumer Divisions for the company’s largest geographic region spanning China, India, Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea and Australia-New Zealand. Lally replaces Nobuyoshi Kawasaki, who retired at year-end after 39 years with Imation and 3M.

The company also announced the transition of its Asia-Pacific regional headquarters from Imation’s offices in Tokyo to the company’s offices in Hong Kong.