Australia Queensland Sugar Selects IBM Storwize V7000

International Business Machines Corporation
announced that Queensland Sugar Ltd
(QSL), a raw sugar marketing specialist that manages over 90% of Australia’s
raw sugar exports, has selected IBM storage systems to support its
growing data demands.

QSL, a non-profit organisation, works on behalf of seven Queensland milling
companies and approximately 3,000 Australian sugar growers to help them build
business partnerships with sugar refiners in the Asia Pacific region. It also
manages the country’s six bulk terminals where more than two and a half million
tons of raw sugar is stored prior to export. QSL’s data
demands have grown over time and over the past two years alone, the
organisation has seen its data storage requirements increase by almost 20%
annually.

In addition to its growing data volumes, the type of data QSL is generating has
also changed. QSL’s data required a fast, flexible and scalable storage
solution. After evaluating various alternatives and working with IBM and Business Partner NewBase Computer Services
Pty Ltd, QSL selected the scalable Storwize
V7000 storage system.

"The IBM Storwize V7000 storage
solution offered the best price-performance ratio, combined with innovative
Real-time Compression and management features," said Salvo Spina, IT Manager, Queensland Sugar Ltd. "QSL is a not-for-profit organization and we
strive to deliver the best possible value and services to our shareholders."

One feature of the Storwize V7000 that was of particular interest to QSL
was its real-time compression capability. Unlike traditional storage systems
that compress only low activity data, or data not frequently accessed, real-time
compression on the Storwize V7000 compresses active data – in real time –
by as much as 80%. This increases total effective storage capacity by up to
five times, enabling QSL to handle its data volumes more efficiently.

The IBM Storwize V7000 also provides the performance required by QSL to
improve its delivery of Terminal Services to users throughout Queensland.

As part of its Smarter Computing effort, IBM announced a new strategic approach
to designing and managing storage infrastructures with greater automation and
intelligence, as well as significant performance enhancements to several key
storage systems including the Storwize V7000.

"Organizations need storage
infrastructures that can better respond to constant social, economic, and
business change," said Joe Screnci, business unit executive, Storage
Systems, IBM Australia and New Zealand. "They need a smarter approach to storage, one that exploits automated
intelligence to increase the efficiency, utilisation, and performance of
storage systems while lowering costs and handling growing data volumes."