Dell to Simplify 'De-Dupe' to Help Customers Manage Data Growth

-- Unique Approach Helps Customers Simplify and Save on Storage Operations

-- Working with Industry Leaders EMC and Quantum to Deliver Common Architecture

ROUND ROCK, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Dell today announced it is developing new data de-duplication products as part of its TierDisk family of storage solutions and intends to simplify de-duplication functionality across its storage portfolio. The company expects to begin shipping systems for customers ranging from small-and-medium businesses to large enterprises early next year.

    The News:

    --  Dell is taking a common architecture approach to its
        de-duplication strategy. By developing a single de-duplication
        architecture across the company's PowerVault, EqualLogic, and
        Dell/EMC product families, Dell will deliver the compatibility
        customers require to simply replicate and de-duplicate data
        across multiple sites (for example from departments or branch
        offices to the data center).

    --  Dell is working with industry leaders EMC and Quantum to
        provide compatibility across brand and product lines. By
        driving de-duplication, replication and management
        commonality, Dell, EMC and Quantum are working to provide
        compatibility and choice in a technology area that is
        proprietary from other vendors. Dell customers will have the
        freedom to deploy Dell solutions and replicate data to and
        from other Dell, EMC or Quantum-based offerings.

    --  By providing compatibility and a common de-duplication
        architecture, Dell will enable customers to simplify their
        storage operations by providing a robust disk-based disaster
        recovery (DR) solution. Dell solutions will provide LAN or WAN
        efficient DR solutions by only replicating and maintaining
        unique block level data from backup or archive operations
        within or across sites.

    --  Dell will also offer a full range of services to help
        customers assess, design and implement a comprehensive
        de-duplication solution. Dell's Data Management consulting
        assessment can rapidly indentify how much data is stored, its
        age, and whether it is duplicated in multiple locations. Dell
        is then able to help customers reclaim storage through use of
        technologies such as de-duplication, optimizing costs and
        ensuring their infrastructure can meet the ongoing growth in
        the storage of data.

    --  De-duplication, or "de-dupe," removes duplicate or multiple
        copies of information as it is backed up or archived.

        --  By eliminating redundant data in the backup process,
            de-duplication helps users retain significantly more data
            on disk for quick recovery and reduces the bandwidth
            needed to replicate data between sites for disaster
            recovery.

        --  Additionally, de-duplication helps lower the cost of
            disk-based backup by allowing customers to increase the
            realized capacity of disk based storage.

    Quotes:

    --  "We're going to do de-dupe differently - by putting the
        customers' need for simplification up front. Storage has been
        too complicated for too long," said Darren Thomas, vice
        president and general manager, Dell's storage business. "To
        simplify de-duplication, we're working with industry leaders
        such as EMC and Quantum to provide a single architecture that
        spans not only our portfolio, but can work with others as
        well. That is a very innovative approach to helping customers
        manage their explosive data growth."

    --  "In the next two to three years, we believe data
        de-duplication will be a 'check box' capability customers will
        require as part of any vendors' backup and recovery offering,
        said Gene Ruth, Storage Analyst at Burton Group. "Customers
        are looking for integrated and flexible de-duplication
        solutions that they can deploy and manage in mixed
        environments and that can span smaller remote sites to
        back-end data centers."

    Additional Information:

    Dell vlog on de-dupe

    Dell Inside IT blog

    About Dell

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services they trust and value.

Source: Dell Inc.

Released November 3, 2008