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StorageQuest SELECTS MICROBOARDS AS EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTOR

Microboards announced that it has been selected by StorageQuest Inc of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada as its exclusive U.S. distributor for its Multi-services Storage Manager (MSM) line of network storage management products. The MSM was developed to address the needs of the data archival arena by providing a plug and play, appliance based, network-attached manager for media libraries.

The MSM series of network-attached management devices are based on StorageQuest's "Any-to-Any Architecture," a storage architecture that allows any client to access any storage resource regardless of media type, vendor, or operating system platform.

"Microboards has always believed that traditional storage systems were insufficient for archival because of the proprietary nature of software connectivity products' data formats and the associated high costs of licensing, deploying, and maintaining those systems," said chief information officer John Westrum from Microboards. "We have championed optical storage for many years as the perfect medium to address those needs, but have struggled with its acceptance in near-line storage because of shortcomings in management of the media. With the increasing need for long term retention of data to meet compliance and regulatory requirements, optical storage has proven to be the ideal solution. By removing cost and complexity issues StorageQuest has eliminated the final barriers of entry in that market."

Universal Formats

In the recent past, archival applications have begun to distinguish themselves from traditional storage because of the need for long-term readability. Many users in the market have remained tied to legacy systems that use archaic media and proprietary data formats, hindering flexibility and independence. The MSM provides improved long-term stability and accessibility by using widely accepted media (including optical media, such as DVD-R and Magneto Optical) and industry standard data formats.

"The guiding principles behind the MSM's architecture will revolutionize storage and archival," said Marwan Zayed, StorageQuest's president and CEO. "The MSM transforms an optical library into a network-attached storage appliance. Optical libraries now become application, platform, and operating system independent. This independence means archiving files to permanent, secure media is simple, flexible, and cost effective for any application."

Simple Browser-based Management

Because the MSM was designed with transparency in mind, it actually helps organizations leverage other investments in storage and IT infrastructure. And its design makes integration with existing systems very simple and cost-effective. The MSM can be quickly and easily connected to an existing corporate network, and appears as one or more storage pools that are immediately available to any application or network user.

The MSM offering will deliver several major capabilities, including:

• Out of box integration with libraries from major vendors including Pioneer, Plasmon, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, and others.

• Eliminates the need for dedicated server and proprietary software.

• Supports all types of Optical Media: CD, DVD, MO, UDO and Blu-Ray.

• Provides a needed replacement legacy storage systems using Universal mediums and formats.

• Suited for a wide range of needs, including regulatory compliant, Information Lifecycle Management, Medical Imaging and Digital Asset Management Applications.

• Reduced cost investment by replacing multiple hardware and licensing needs under current solutions.

• Reduced time/IT resource investment because of simple installation and management through browser-based interface.