News

posted on 29 April 2008 11:08

IBM has begun offering storage in the cloud for the smaller enterprises' data and e-mails using IBM data centres and services sold by its channel.

Storage in the cloud involves customer's files and/or e-mails being stored on remote data centres, IBM ones in this case, with access being via the Internet. It means that customers can avoid having their own on-site data protection systems, either tape or disk-based.

IBM's Remote Data Protection Service (RDPS) is for small businesses with two or three Windows servers and a few PCs. On signing up to the pay-as-you-go subscription service customers are given a turnkey IBM appliance and this provides the gateway to the service, based on Arsenal Digital capabilities.

Data is backed up automatically and de-duplicated before transmission, and then encrypted using a 128-bit AES method. The cost is about $6-8/GB of stored data. The service is to be sold and supported by IBM's business partners (channel).

IBM bought Arsenal Digital in December, 2007. It provided storage services in the cloud for 3,400 SME customers with 60 data centres spread across five continents.

IBM is also offering E-Mail Management Express with e-mail continuity and archiving. The underlying e-mail backup in the cloud system could be viewed as a remote Exchange or Notes e-mail facility which customers can use to guarantee access to e-mails and also to act as a longer-term e-mail archive. Blackberry devices are also supported. It is priced on a per-mailbox basis with volume discounts.  This service is not based on Arsenal Digital technologies.

Expect a $1.80/mail box cost at the 500 mailbox level and a $1.30/mailbox cost at the 5,000 mailbox level.

We now have four cloud storage suppliers with potential mainstream credibility: Amazon, EMC, IBM, and Nirvanix.

^{[Paul Roberts, news editor.]}