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Storability Inc., until now a storage service provider, will launch a packaged version of its system designed for large enterprises and companies looking for enhanced services opportunities.
The software, AssuredStorage Management System, or ASMS, focuses on multisite situations, such as worldwide corporations and telecommunications companies, said Eric Bart, vice president of engineering for the Southboro, Mass., startup. Its available immediately and costs from $500,000 to $1 million.
“It enables the customer to become a service provider, either internally or externally,” Bart said.
“The differences are surprisingly few” in building enterprise and subscriber versions of the software, Bart said. “Over time, I see improvements in the [automated] management of storage devices. I see a greater introduction of things like virtualization and automated lights-out kind of management.”
Meanwhile, the software includes tools for service-level management, subscriber metering, security and capacity planning.
“Well be providing backup services to our co-location customers. Were [also] using their services to back up our shared hosting,” said John Bouthiette, director of data center operations at CTC Communications Corp., a local exchange carrier in Waltham, Mass. “All of those things are integrated through a portal that they provide and we integrate with.”
Looking forward, Storability could stand improvements such as larger volumes and disaster recovery features, Bouthiette said.
“What I was looking for, if it is indeed outsourced, is a simplistic way for all of my admins and management group to monitor what it is theyre running,” said David Graham, IT operations director at Vignette Corp., in Austin, Texas. “Weve had an assessment done, where their professional services came in and took a look at our current storage infrastructure. This was a real help, and not just a sales pitch. They have a real good cross- section of skills. Their assessment really blew my socks off.”
But Storabilitys Web interface needs improvements, Graham said, adding that hes also considering products from IBM and StorageNetworks Inc., of Waltham, Mass.
While the new software will probably be current for about a year, Bart said, Storability had trouble being the service provider because it didnt have the physical infrastructure and resources of the large companies and telecoms it now aims to sell to.
“Theyve already got the stuff built up,” he said.