Boost your storage buying power... use ours!

Transcription

1 TM TM Data Sheets : White Papers : Case Studies Nimbus have a game changing proposition and COOLSPIRiT have the customer focus to carry this through, together it makes a dynamic partnership that Nimbus are very excited about Ed Renwick, UK & Ireland Country Manager, Nimbus Data System Inc. Boost your storage buying power... use ours! 24 The Bridge Business Centre, Beresford Way, Chesterfield, S41 9FG web@coolspirit.co.uk

2 VENDOR PROFILE Nimbus Data Systems Delivers an All- Flash Array Noemi Greyzdorf Benjamin Woo I DC OPINION New applications, server and desktop virtualization, and continuous data growth are forcing IT organizations to think outside the box. Managers of servers, networks, and storage are seeking products that don't compromise capacity to deliver performance, power to enable scalability, or simplicity to ensure availability. Across industries and geographies, IT is seeking solutions that address the following business criteria: Ease of use, including setup, configuration, maintenance, and troubleshooting High levels of continuous resource utilization Efficient consumption of power and facilities Scalability without compromising flexibility or agility Filing Information: February 2011, IDC #227080, Volume: 1 Storage Systems: Vendor Profile

3 IN THIS VENDOR PROFILE This IDC Vendor Profile provides an overview of Nimbus Data Systems and its all- NAND-based storage array technology. SITUATION OVERVIEW Company Overview Nimbus Data Systems was found in 2006 and is based in San Francisco, California. Nimbus develops Sustainable Storage systems and software, targeting enterprise virtualization, database, and rich content markets. The company's initial product was an iscsi array, which saw some success. For the past couple of years, Nimbus has focused on developing an all-silicon storage platform based exclusively on NAND flash technology. The idea behind this system is to ensure the highest levels of performance and resiliency while maximizing the efficiency of storage consumption and keeping the per terabyte acquisition cost of an all-flash storage system roughly comparable to an all-hdd array. Nimbus Data Systems' S-class Enterprise Storage is an entirely NAND array, targeting the users of traditional 10,000/15,000rpm "primary" storage arrays. Nimbus designed its HALO operating system architecture and software from scratch, with flash-based media in mind. The unified storage platform supports FC, iscsi, and NAS protocols and delivers simple administration capability and a smaller datacenter footprint per unit of performance. The array scales from 2.5TB to 250TB in a single system. One of the top challenges in many datacenters is application performance, which is exacerbated by limited availability of power. Nimbus Data Systems' philosophy is solving the performance issue at Nimbus' root, the hard disk drive, by replacing it with flash; this direct approach is believed to reduce potential failure points and eliminates complexity associated with caching and tiering technologies. S-class Enterprise Storage system offers all the software features necessary to manage an enterprise-class storage array: Asynchronous replication for disaster recovery and synchronous mirroring for high availability Snapshots Inline deduplication, thin provisioning, and thin reclamation Reporting and notifications, Web interfaces, and proactive monitoring and benchmarking VMware, Citrix, Oracle, and Microsoft application-aware plug-ins and management modules 2 # IDC

4 All software features are included in the price of the system. Nimbus Data Systems has attained profitability without institutional financing or debt, winning 200 paying customers and ensuring that the company has definitively cleared the key execution hurdles. Company Strategy Nimbus Data Systems is solving the performance challenge by delivering an entirely flash-based storage system at a price comparable to traditional HDD arrays. The company is looking to expand its market reach through strategic channel partners, growing its current customer base of 200 as quickly as possible. In the first quarter of 2011, Nimbus Data announced that it has reached profitability. FUTURE OUTLOOK The adoption of virtualization and performance-intensive applications will continue to drive users to seek new storage approaches to solving key challenges: application performance without excessive power consumption or datacenter footprint, without exponentially higher price per gigabyte to attain necessary performance, and without additional complexity or management overhead. Nimbus Data is well positioned to establish a beachhead with its entirely NAND system. The projected demands on storage create an opportunity for Nimbus Data to gain mindshare and market share, thus establishing a strong foundation for an IPO in ESSENTIAL GUIDANCE Advice for Nimbus Data Systems Nimbus Data Systems is facing a great opportunity to change how storage is bought and consumed. In this very busy, fast-paced market, it is important to be clear in your messaging. Often, when disrupting business as usual, it may be challenging to make users believe that what you have is the real deal. Nimbus Data Systems must invest in the following activities: Educate the broader market on the benefits and challenges of using flash technology in a storage system. Clearly position applications that can realize the most benefit from the use of an all-flash storage system. Empower the channel to position and compete effectively with traditional offerings and provide incentive for the partners to make an effort. Establish go-to-market partnerships with application providers that are a good initial fit for the technology's key benefits IDC #

5 LEARN MORE Related Research Worldwide Enterprise Storage Systems Forecast Update: December 2010 (IDC #226223, December 2010) Storage Is Hot: Virtualization, Data Growth, and Environmental Impact on Costs Will Define Storage in 2011 (IDC #226404, December 2010) Survey Results: Trends in Storage for x86 Virtualized Environments (IDC #225059, November 2010) Copyright Notice This IDC research document was published as part of an IDC continuous intelligence service, providing written research, analyst interactions, telebriefings, and conferences. Visit to learn more about IDC subscription and consulting services. To view a list of IDC offices worldwide, visit Please contact the IDC Hotline at , ext (or ) or sales@idc.com for information on applying the price of this document toward the purchase of an IDC service or for information on additional copies or Web rights. Copyright 2011 IDC. Reproduction is forbidden unless authorized. All rights reserved. 4 # IDC