Unisys Storage Sentinel eases management, increases availability - data storage device - Product Announcement

EDP Weekly's IT Monitor, Sept 2, 2002

Unisys Storage Sentinel is the first product to enable enterprises with heterogeneous storage environments to increase storage utilization rates by accessing and re-allocating storage capacity from a single, virtualized pool. Unisys developed the self-contained solution using market-leading hardware and software technologies.

According to analysts, most large-scale storage implementations are severely underutilized--40 to 60% utilization is not uncommon. Until now, companies with storage environments from different vendors attached in different configurations have had no simple way to get an overview of all the storage capacity they have available.

With Unisys Storage Sentinel, all storage resources--no matter where they are or how they are attached--can be managed as one storage network, from one management dashboard. The result is substantially simplified storage asset management and deployment, translating into reduced overall cost of ownership.

Building upon its rich enterprise computing heritage, Unisys has incorporated snapshotting, striping and mirroring capabilities within Storage Sentinel to give users increased flexibility to manage multiple platforms and applications.

By implementing the power and simplicity of a solitary, comprehensive storage management console, Unisys Storage Sentinel enables storage resources to be managed as a utility to control data availability and management, data loss and disaster recovery and backup.

As Storage Sentinel consolidates, and reclaims underutilized storage, enterprises can benefit from reduced data management costs and improved service levels.

Unisys will take a consultative approach to introduce Storage Sentinel, helping customers assess, design, implement and maintain the appropriate storage management infrastructure for their specific business requirements.

In this services-led process, Unisys will perform a two-day discovery workshop, free of charge, to assess customers' current storage infrastructure and evaluate the benefits of deploying the Unisys Storage Sentinel solution. Additional services can include design and project management, networking and system implementation and ongoing maintenance.

"The most effective way to manage a sprawling, multi-vendor storage environment is with a common management interface like Storage Sentinel," said Bill Jefferis, director of storage management solutions, Unisys. "With an appliance like Storage Sentinel, customers will be able to rein in their infrastructures and maximize productivity of their resources. In addition, the solution will serve as a helpful planning tool for customers to intelligently expand their server environments down the line."

Unisys Storage Sentinel is part of an ongoing effort to simplify the management of the data center, an initiative that took a major step forward in March 2002 with the announcement of Unisys Server Sentinel technology for systems management. Unisys Storage Sentinel brings the company's systems management expertise to the storage management market for the first time.

"Storage management has become more and more complex as IT systems have grown across organizations," said Robert Passmore, research director, Gartner Inc. "CIOs need to have an easy way to view their storage capacity, assess utilization rates and re-assign resources. The market is ready for a solution that can help organizations more intelligently and cost-effectively manage their heterogeneous storage infrastructures."

Unisys Storage Sentinel is available starting September 4, 2002, and complies with the Storage Networking Industry Association's Common Information Model, enabling management of multi-vendor storage environments. A standard implementation, consisting of the Unisys Storage Sentinel appliance, along with consulting and implementation services, is priced at $200,000.