Network Appliance and iC Consult Team Up; Platform-Independent High Availability Solution for Enterprise Data Management

Business Wire, Dec 18, 2000

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 18, 2000

Network Appliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP), the leading provider of network-attached data access and content delivery solutions, announced an agreement with system integrator iC Consult to unveil a platform-independent, high-performance solution for enterprise data management. The solution combines iC's knowledge management and retrieval software KnowledgeConnect, which is installed on a separate server, and NetApp(R) filers that offer powerful data storage and management solutions. This solution enables users to organize or index their stored documents with a simple drag-and-drop process, offering an easy-to-use and flexible solution for retrieving documents within a network-attached storage (NAS) environment.

The KnowledgeConnect software solution is used to build document-oriented hosting systems. Documents get automatically stored by a drag-and-drop process that works according to semantical rules. KnowledgeConnect consists of four different, free-to-choose, independent components: InfoMan for defined rules storage, Readware IP-Server for classification and research, InfoMan- and Readware-Activator for adaptation to MS-Exchange or a DMS, and a central configurations management for connection and coordination of single components. Data transfer between the components as well as search for documents occur via HTTP or FTP. KnowledgeConnect on the client side is compatible with Windows(R) 95/98, Windows NT(R) 4.0, and Windows 2000. On the server side KnowledgeConnect with compatible to Windows NT and UNIX(R).

"According to IT-Research, around 70% of small businesses and corporations already use knowledge management systems or plan to implement one in the near future," said Werner Pfadler, founder and manager of iC Consult. "Therefore, we provide a solution that not only records documents but also allows high availability and scalability of data. In Network Appliance we have found the right partner for realizing this goal."

"The explosive growth of data and documents demands a systematic and intelligent management system," explains Gunther Thiel, marketing manager central Europe of Network Appliance. "The partnership with iC Consult is another important step toward providing combined platform-independent solutions, which are able to illustrate the complexity of heterogeneous and dynamic IT worlds."

About IC Consult GmbH

GmbH is located in Ottobrunn near Munich was established in 1997 and bundles many years of experience in IT management, detailed knowledge of communication technique and expertise in PCs. As a system integrator for office communication iC Consult is specialized in enterprise-wide communication solutions and user and resource management for integration of groupware, document management systems and knowledge management. The second main focus of iC Consult are LDAP/X.500/ADS-meta directories for system integration of administration processes as a basis for communication, enterprise-wide resource management, system and document management as well as central information system of person data in the Internet/Intranet (Yellow Pages). With a total turnover of 3.3 Million Deutsche Mark in 1999 iC Consult company group reached a milestone in its dynamic growth. Services includes the complete solution set-up from conception, project planning and product choice over operational installation of the complete solution till bringing into service and training on the spot. For scalable and customer oriented solutions, iC Consult provides LDAP synchronization building blocks, Microsoft Office packages, DMS solutions with Web, Explorer and Outlook for Internet, Windows 95/NT/2000.

About Network Appliance

Network Appliance, Inc., a veteran in network file storage and content delivery, has been providing data access solutions since 1992, and is a member of both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 index. Major corporations and service providers, including Lycos, Yahoo!, Citicorp Securities, Siemens, Lockheed, Cisco, Motorola, and Texas Instruments have deployed NetApp solutions.

The company pioneered the concept of the "network appliance," an extension of the industry trend toward dedicated, specialized products that perform a single function. NetApp storage and content delivery platforms (filers and NetCache(TM) appliances) are coupled with powerful content distribution and reporting software. This end-to-end solution offers seamless data management from the back-end data center to the edge of the network quickly, simply, and reliably. The Network Appliance(TM) product portfolio utilizes the company's innovative data access software, known as the Data ONTAP(TM) operating system, as well as standards-compliant hardware. It also offers multiprotocol support and transparent integration for UNIX and Windows environments.

NetApp is a registered trademark and Network Appliance, NetCache, and Data ONTAP are trademarks of Network Appliance, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. UNIX is a registered trademark of X/Open Company Limited, in the U.S. and other countries. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such.