INDUSTRY

ALISO VIEJO, CA -- Supporting its vision of a storage area network (SAN) in every business, QLogic Corp. (Nasdaq:QLGC), along with 35 key SAN storage and software developers, today announced the Affordable SAN Initiative. Members of the initiative intend to dispel the notion that storage area networks (SANs) are unaffordable for small and medium businesses by redefining and promoting SAN solutions for these customers with end-user pricing of $50,000 or less, a significant reduction in the typical $250,000 entry point to enterprise-class SANs. Affordable SAN Initiative members presently include: Acer, ADIC, ATTO, BakBone Software, BMC Software, Broadband Storage, Chaparral Network Storage, Ciprico, Computer Associates, Crossroads Systems, DataCore Software, Dot Hill, Eurologic Systems, Exabyte Corporation, FalconStor, Legato Systems, Inc., LSI Logic Storage Systems, MTI, Nexsan Technologies, Nishan Systems, nStor Technologies, Overland Data, Prisa Networks, Procom Technology, Qualstar, Quantum Corporation, Raidtec Corporation, SAN Valley Systems, Seagate Technology, Spectra Logic, StorageTek, Sun Microsystems, VERITAS Software, Vicom and Zzyzx Peripherals. "This initiative sums up what we stand for at Sun Network Storage: providing more customers with more choice for their network storage infrastructure," said John Maxwell, vice president network storage marketing, Sun Microsystems. "Our Sun StorEdge arrays provide customers with a low-entry point and high scalability to ensure a low Total Cost of Ownership. We look forward to working with the many members of the initiative to see how we can best serve customers demanding high-performance storage solutions at a low-cost." A typical SAN solution today includes the installation of one terabyte of disk storage and a tape library shared by eight servers across a redundant fabric. The cost is approximately $250,000, completely out of reach to the vast majority of small and medium businesses. The Affordable SAN Initiative breaks down this cost barrier with SAN configurations targeted at two-four node server workgroups supporting applications such as Microsoft Exchange and SQL Server. In the coming months, members of the Affordable SAN Initiative will announce products that provide SAN disk storage, tape storage, information protection and availability and storage management solutions -- all for under $50,000 MSRP. "Cost and complexity have haunted the Fibre Channel SAN industry and caused slow adoption. We love the fact that QLogic is taking a leadership role in driving down the cost and simplifying the implementation of SANs," said Steve Duplessie, founder and senior analyst, Enterprise Storage Group. "This will lead to more people reaping the benefits of networked storage, which is good for the users, good for the industry and good for QLogic. What's not to like?" "In today's era of tight budgets, users are demanding more for less," said Nick Allen, vice president and research director at Gartner, Inc. "Lowering the entry cost for SANs addresses these demands and will stimulate the market." "Aberdeen research shows that the overwhelming majority of enterprises that have installed a SAN are very satisfied," said David G. Hill, research director, Storage and Storage Management, Aberdeen Group. "However, installing a SAN can be very expensive and many enterprises have not been able to put together a compelling business case for a storage area network. The Affordable SAN Initiative changes the purchase-decision landscape -- justifying a SAN will be much easier as the investment mountain just became a molehill. QLogic and the other members of the Affordable SAN Initiative should be given a pat on the back by organizations that no longer have to lean over backwards to try to justify a SAN." "To date, the perception of high costs, and the fear of vendor lock-in have kept many IT departments from deploying a SAN," said Eric Sheppard, senior research analyst at IDC. "The Affordable SAN Initiative addresses both of these perceptions by helping to minimize the capital costs associated with SAN deployment while ensuring IT departments have a significant choice of products from familiar suppliers."