Imation Introduces Scalable Storage Platform for SMBs

At Storage Networking World (SNW) Fall 2011, Imation Corp. unveiled a scalable storage portfolio of data protection and data archive products designed to help data-intensive, compliance-driven SMBs retain, retrieve and recover valuable data.

"Many SMBs feel trapped between a rock and a hard place with unstructured data storage and compliance requirements that are too sophisticated for off-the-shelf storage products, yet SMBs can’t justify the cost and complexity of enterprise class solutions," said Ian Williams, vice president, global marketing and product management, Imation. "We’ve solved that problem by delivering a suite of tiered storage products right-sized for today’s data-intensive SMBs. Backed by Imation’s global reach, strong channel relationships and data storage experience spanning nearly 60 years, our new scalable storage solutions help SMBs cost-effectively embrace the rapidly expanding digital world, yet frees them up to run a productive business."

Imation’s scalable storage platform features new Imation InfiniVault and Imation DataGuard multi-tiered data-archive and data-protection appliances, as well as the company’s existing Imation RDX removable hard disk storage and LTO technologies. The portfolio provides compliant solutions for SMBs to better retain, retrieve and recover their data.

"Compliance and the explosion of unstructured data have changed the way SMBs must retain, retrieve and recover their data. For years, SMBs have pieced together solutions from different storage companies which didn’t always work well together," said Tom Coughlin, founder of Coughlin Associates. "Imation is offering a seamlessly integrated portfolio of tiered and flexible storage solutions geared to the needs of SMBs. These solutions include cloud-enabling storage capabilities as well as archive quality media and appliances designed to enable SMBs to efficiently scale their storage according to their data archive and data protection needs."

The launch of Imation’s tiered storage platform with data archive and data protection products for SMBs is another step in Imation’s strategy to grow in the secure and scalable storage markets. Already in data storage, the company is making technology investments to extend its position in data storage, security, archiving and protection, including the 2011 acquisitions of MXI Security, IronKey’s secure hardware business and the assets of ProStor Systems, including the InfiniVault product line.

About Imation’s Scalable Storage Portfolio
The Imation InfiniVault data-archive appliance provides SMBs a storage option for managing unstructured data, helps meet data retention requirements and utilizes hard drives, RDX drives and the cloud to deliver elastic vaults of online, nearline and offline storage. The Imation line includes four models – including the Imation InfiniVault 5, 35, 70 and DICOM – to meet size and industry requirements. Imation InfiniVault data-archive appliances are available in the U.S. through authorized Imation resellers and dealers.

The Imation DataGuard data-protection appliance is a disaster-tolerant backup appliance using hard drives and RDX drives to provide a multi-layer data protection target within existing backup infrastructures. Designed as both tower and rack models, DataGuard uses RDX removable hard drives to retain backups and to seed the cloud infrastructure. Models include the Imation DataGuard T5R, R4 and the R16, and will be available through authorized Imation resellers and dealers in early 2012.

Purpose built to mitigate data loss, retain long-term data and support removable media workflows, Imation’s line of stand alone and internal mounted RDX hardware combines the best of tape backup with hard disk drive storage and delivers removability, portability reliability, faster transfer rates and file retrieval. Currently available through authorized Imation resellers and dealers, models include the RDX A8 Storage Array and RDX USB 2.0 and 3.0 Internal and External Docks.

Imation’s LTO Hardware is available as a single tape drive system or multiple drive library systems in either rack mount or standalone configurations. Models include the LTO-4 and LTO-5 HH SAS Tape Drives, and L1200 LTO 2U and L1400 LTO 4U Tape Libraries. Imation’s LTO Hardware products will be available through authorized Imation resellers and dealers in November 2011.

"We are always searching for compelling and differentiated products to add to our manufacturer line up", said Charles Bass, vice president, Vendor Relations, Promark Technology, Inc. "In this case, we were looking for a scalable storage solution for small- and medium-sized customers who have data- intensive and compliance-driven requirements similar to larger enterprises. Imation presented us with a solution that is extremely attractive and provides a comprehensive tiered storage product line that we can offer to our channel partners whose customers don’t want to settle for low end, off-the-shelf products or costly enterprise solutions."

The company is a contributing member of the Active Archive Alliance – a collaborative industry coalition formed to educate end-user organizations on the evolving new technologies that enable reliable, online and efficient access to their archived data.