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BridgeHead Software has integrated its policy-based data lifecycle management software with EMCs Centera CAS, offering users more options for disaster recovery and data archiving.
By integrating BridgeHeads HT ISM (Integrated Storage Management) software platform with EMCs Centera CAS content-addressed storage solution, EMC users now have an advanced rules-based system for finding data around the network and writing it in an efficient manner to Centera, said Patrick Dowling, BridgeHeads senior vice president of product management.
With the integration, users now can use BridgeHead software to search both content and metadata, which makes Centera easier to populate with data while keeping that data within easy view and access. And because HT ISM offers the ability to write to multiple copies in multiple places, archives can now be simultaneously maintained for better protection and multiple business purposes, such as compliance and disaster recovery, Dowling said.
Although the integration yields benefits, the main reason for it was probably competitive, said Greg Schulz, a partner at StorageIO Group, of Stillwater, Mass.
“If you want to play in the data migration arena or be part of any ecosystem that involves EMC, integration with EMC is Jacks or better,” he said. “Its that simple. If you want to play in this space, you have to support Centera.”
And its not only backup and archiving vendors that should heed this advice. “Were seeing continued integration with Centera in many areas—even search specialists like StoredIQ and other data indexing and search type tools are doing it,” he said.
As for BridgeHead, the next step should be supporting other major vendors APIs. The next logical step, Schulz said, is support for NetApp, followed perhaps by integrating with Hitachi Data Systems Archivus content archiving platform.
“If youre going to play in this ecosystem, you have to continue to evolve,” he said.
Dowling said BridgeHeads next steps will indeed further evolve the product and improve integration. Next steps include expansion of the Woburn, Mass., companys file archiving platforms, enhanced support of evolving compliance features in supported storage media, greater operational structure in the user interface, and operational workflow for integrating backup.