LONDON (01/27/2004) - Network Appliance Inc. is partnering with IXOS Software AG and Princeton Softech Inc. to ensure ILM products are available on its products.
Storage Technology Corp. (Storage Tek) and Hitachi Data Systems Corp. (HDS) are already IXOS partners so IXOS is riding high.
EMC Corp. has recently announced its ILM story based on an agreement with Outerbay Technologies Inc. Specialist vendors here rule the roost.
Net App and IXOS
IXOS' Enterprise Content Management (ECM) suite is being integrated with NetApp's SnapLock, which supports WORM disk storage rather than tape or optical devices that NetApp doesn't supply. NetApp says this is faster and equips its boxes to be used as archive stores in line with Basel II and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.
The ECM suite supports Excahange, Lotus Development Corp. Notes, SAP AG, Siebel Systems Inc. and Peoplesoft Inc. (where are you Oracle Corp.?). Customers could run these apps on a NetApp filer and then use another one for the archive function.
Princeton Softech and NetApp
Princeton Softech is another database archiving supplier and its Active Archiving product is being integrated with SnapLock so that NetApp filers can be used for database archiving of ERP and CRM application databases, such as Oracle E-Business (oh, there you are), PeopleSoft and Clarify Inc. CRM.
NetApp has a strong ILM thrust and recently bought Spinnaker Networks LLC to enhance its product offering. At the time we wrote, 'NetApp is targeting its storage grid architecture as an entry in the information lifecycle management (ILM) market where it will face competition from the likes of Hewlett-Packard (Co.) and EMC, among others.'
However, NetApp has a disk-only ILM offering and this might limit its ability to compete with disk and tape/optical suppliers, such as StorageTek, HP and IBM Corp.