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IIJ-Tech To Enhance IBPS Data Management Service

Internet Initiative Japan Inc (IIJ), Japan's leading Internet access and comprehensive network solutions provider, announced that IIJ Technology Inc, its 64.1-percent-owned subsidiary, will enhance its Integration and Business Platform Service (IBPS) Data Management Service, which is the first 40 terabyte storage service in Japan, starting on Oct. 27.

IBPS is one of several resource-on-demand services that IIJ-Tech provides. The service consists of data storage and management on systems that have been built by and are operated at the IIJ group data center. With the new improvements, customers will now have access to even greater, more flexible storage capacity at a reasonable price.

"More than ever, customers need network storage to centrally manage their accumulated information resources and to lower management costs and other TCO elements," said Koichi Suzuki, president and CEO of IIJ. "Yet customers using other storage systems are faced with an array of problems, including high costs, lost time spent on data backups, and the arduous task of selecting storage that is suited to the sensitivity of the data. The IIJ Group solves these problems with this new service."

Advantages Of The Expanded IBPS Data Management Service

• Several available configurations

  Customers can select a storage service that fits their service requirements. The premium-tier service is for high-security data management needs, while the middle-tier service is sufficient for standard data management situations.

• Greatly reduced costs

  The reasonably priced and secure middle-tier service can help customers reduce their storage costs. The new IBPS Data Management Service costs as little as 1/5th of earlier versions.

• High-speed backup

  High-speed, low-cost, disk-to-disk backups are also available. This makes data searches easy, and the user no longer has to spend the time and effort associated with tape storage backups.

This latest system evolution is the culmination of several joint efforts, where the planning and design was provided by IIJ-Tech and implementation assistance was received from Information Services International -- Dentsu Ltd, Kanematsu Electronics Ltd, Hewlett-Packard Japan Ltd and Brocade Communications Systems K.K.. The virtual technology component uses SANsymphony, which was developed by DataCore Software Corporation in the United States and provided by KEL. In addition, the system uses the integrated SAN switch from Brocade and support provided by HP Japan.

IBPS service improvements that are planned for the future include lower per-unit storage costs, broader service areas, virus protection, encryption, a multi-protocol interface and other high value added services.