As voice and video continue to flood IP networks, demand for storage will continue to escalate. Instead of buying on-site storage, backup and recovery systems, many businesses are opting to outsource these offerings to manage storage service providers. Get Started: Register to enter our Resource Center, where you can download guides to emerging managed storage services. And check back often. We post new guides in the MSPmentor Resource Center every week.
Symantec Protection Network (SPN), a software as a service (SaaS) platform launched in May 2008, is off to a solid start with managed service providers and VARs, according to Symantec Senior Director Chris Schin.
Still, Schin concedes that SaaS and the IT channel “are warming up to each other slowly.” His point applies to SaaS across the board — and certainly isn’t limited to Symantec. I spoke with Schin today to get an update on SPN and Symantec’s SaaS strategy for partners. Here’s a quick recap of the conversation.
Dell made a subtle but important move when the company announced storage management and data protection services on June 25.
Within the press release, which focused on Dell’s infrastructure consulting services, the company including this little note to partners and managed service providers: Read More >
Apparently, Symantec’s SaaS (software as a service) platform, known as Symantec Protection Network (SPN), hasn’t exactly set the world on fire since its launch earlier this year. In fact, Symantec has been unusually quiet about SPN’s progress in recent months.
But that changed last week, when the company described some of the bumps SPN has hit during Symantec Vision — a customer conference held in Las Vegas. Read More >
Symantec has made another move in the managed storage market, acquiring Swapdrive. The deal pushes Symantec deeper into online storage, where the company already offers the Symantec Protection Network (SPN).
While SPN is a software as a service (SaaS) option for VARs and MSPs, Swapdrive targets consumers.
Symantec-Swapdrive is the fifth deal added this month to our MSPmentor M&A Tracker, which charts MSP- and SaaS-oriented mergers, acquisitions and investments. Here’s a bit more about Swapdrive. Read More >
Avnet Technology Solutions and Hewlett-Packard are promoting managed storage services into midsize businesses. The partnership, expected to be announced later today, involves HP’s Electronic Vaulting Services — which feature off-site data backup and recovery services for a monthly fee.
Avnet’s partnership with HP is the latest example of distributors polishing their managed services strategies.
Nirvanix, an online storage provider, is making some interesting head-to-head claims against Amazon.com’s Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3). Specifically, Nirvanix claims that its Storage Delivery Network offers downloads that are roughly 200 percent faster than S3. The data is based on testing done by 3Tera Inc.
The Geek Squad is providing managed online backup services through a company called Data Deposit Box. Now, Data Deposit Box is seeking resellers to support its online backup services. Will any managed service providers take the bait?
I spotted a very interesting article on GigaOm today. It explores the factors you should weigh before launching your own storage cloud. It’s a particularly timely read for managed service providers that may own multiple companies, or may be seeking to get economies of scale for multiple customer settings.
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