Sun To Deliver Untouchable VTLs?

October 17th, 2006: After last week’s show in Vegas, Sun is making a redoubled effort with its storage business with a new VTL, a new Partnership with Falconstor and a round of handshakes with other industry heavyweights.

Announced at last week’s Sun Forum in Las Vegas, the new library and partnership will fully address an enterprises storage needs according to Sun. The company says that Falconstor’s unique features combined with its StorageTek virtual tape solutions and Solaris 10 OS are a heady mix that other companies can’t compete with.

“Sun's systems approach to data management enables customers to derive maximum value from their data, while simplifying overall management. Our virtual tape capabilities for both the mainframe and open systems are core to that process,” says David Yen, executive vice president, Storage Group, Sun Microsystems. “With the combination of our Sun Fire servers running the Solaris OS and our expanded collaboration with FalconStor, Sun will deliver enterprise class open systems virtual tape solutions that virtually no one in the market can match.”

A big call, but one that the company is backing to the hilt, particularly with its second announcement at the conference regarding the forging new ties with companies such as BakBone Software, Brocade, Dot Hill, Hitachi, LSI Logic, McData, Oracle and Symantec. Sun wants to ensure certified storage product interoperability and cooperative support across its product portfolio.

Sun says that as StorageTek Ready members, participating companies become part of its StorageTek Ready Advisory Board, which will provide input on solutions the companies will bring to market as well as new ways to develop the StorageTek Ready brand and engage in mutually beneficial activities.

“The StorageTek Ready platform is ultimately about making it easier for customers to make technology decisions,” says Douglas Murray, executive director, Global Alliances, Sun Microsystems. “Membership in this elite group assures customers they can be confident we are working extensively together to meet their needs - through interoperability testing, access to technical resources, information exchange and cooperative support.”

As part of their inclusion into the program, the partners have also committed to porting their applications to the Solaris 10 Operating System.

With a list of vendors like this, EMC and HP could hardly be left out. Traditionally rivals, it appears that Sun is keeping its friends close and its enemies closer.

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