HP jump aboard ILM juggernaut
HP jump aboard ILM juggernaut
Hewlett-Packard has become the latest storage vendor to articulate its thoughts on Information Lifecycle Management, discussing where its ILM strategy is at today and how it is set to develop.
Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) is a phrase that has been bandied about in IT circles even more than "geek" or "internet dating" in the last few months. It is used to define the process of managing and storing data on different levels of storage media, from creation to deletion.
"Although ILM may be a new term, it's not a new concept for HP. We bring years of successful, real-world implementation and integration experience in related areas, backed by the industry's broadest portfolio of solutions and a full complement of partnerships," said Bob Schultz, senior vice president and general manager, HP Network Storage Solutions. "ILM solutions from HP actively manage information according to changing business relevance and lay the foundation for policy-based, automated ILM on an enterprise-wide scale."
HP joins the likes of Veritas, EMC and Legato by pinning its future firmly to the ILM mast, and not without good reason, according to John McArthur, group vice president for storage research at IDC.
"New legislation and regulations related to information privacy and retention have brought about a wave of litigation. Companies can reduce their risk, however, by implementing a comprehensive information lifecycle management (ILM) system. In selecting suppliers, customers should look towards companies that have not only experience and technology to address ILM needs, but also a partnering strategy that leverages existing customer investments."
HP will initially focus on the financial services and healthcare industries, where it sees an acute need for ILM solutions. HP also is targeting the burgeoning ILM market in life sciences, and future HP ILM solutions will be geared toward public sector customers.
HP plans to service these disparate industries with the help of a number of partners. It is working with Ixos, Legato and Persist to meet the needs of the financial services sector. HP is partnering with Avamar, CommVault, Ixos, KVS, Legato, Mirapoint and Persist on e-mail archiving solutions and services that help customers satisfy compliance requirements.
HP also partners with CommVault and QStar to deliver hierarchical storage management solutions. Serving healthcare customers, HP works with leading independent software vendors to integrate with Picture Archive and Communications Systems (PACS) and Healthcare Information Systems.
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