NetApp Returns to Its Roots With S550

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NetApp’s StoreVault S550 for the midmarket not only fills a gap in the network-attached-storage (NAS) vendor’s lower-end product line and fires yet another shot at Dell and HP, it illustrates the company’s return to its roots, says an industry watcher.

The S550 scales to 12 terabytes due to a new chassis that allows for 750GB and 1TB drives, and offers support for server virtualization. It features integration with Microsoft applications via NetApp’s SnapManager for SQL Server. According to a statement, one customer reports backup time cut from hours to seconds using the software.

“The midmarket is where the enterprise was a decade ago, Sajai Krishnan, StoreVault general manager, told InternetNews.com. “There is a growing demand for a reliable and easy-to-use storage device.”

“This product reflects how the small-business market’s needs have evolved in just a year and a half,” he said.

The S550 is the third product from NetApp’s StoreVault division and an upgrade of the first device, the S500, which scales to 6 terabytes and debuted in 2006.

That device lets users handle data stored in a variety of major protocols — including NAS (define), iSCSI (define) SAN and Fibre Channel (define) SAN — all with one box.

Last November NetApp pushed out StoreVault S300 for even smaller businesses — those with less than 100 employees.

Krishnan says a broad customer base exists for the S550, including the K-12 education enterprise, remote corporate locations and even light manufacturers.

“These microsegments have the same issues and needs,” Krishnan said. “They don’t have free time to spend cleaning out data for storage and they often don’t have full-time IT guys to handle storage administration.”

According to Krishnan, the microsegments want high-quality working storage that’s easy to use and reliable.

The appliance goes head to head against Dell’s MD3000i, HP’s MSA device and IBM’s System Storage DS4200 Express. The SMB marketplace has caught the attention of nearly every storage vendor due to its growth expectations and increasing reliance on data for business strategy.

Pricing for the S550 starts at $5,535, and $1,999 for SnapManager for SQL Server StoreVault Edition.

A qualifying difference with the new NetApp appliance, says one analyst, is that the vendor has created a seamless, low-cost offering for those already housing its high-end storage products.

“It’s a brilliant platform move as it’s the perfect solution for the satellite office,” Greg Schultz, president of the StorageIO Group, told InternetNews.com. “If enterprises have the higher-end devices in the main location, this device is the natural fit for the remote location or branch location.”

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