SANTA CLARA, Calif. – February 23, 2006 – Delivering on its plan to increase market share in Small and Midsize Enterprises (SME) worldwide, Hitachi Data Systems Corporation, provider of Application Optimized Storage™ solutions and a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), today announced it has entered into a global distribution agreement with Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM), the world's largest technology distributor. Under the agreement, Ingram Micro will distribute the next generation, channel-optimized Hitachi TagmaStore™ Workgroup Modular Storage model WMS100 and Adaptable Modular Storage model AMS200 to its vast reseller network who reach SMEs worldwide.
Today, companies of all sizes face the challenges of managing explosive data growth, complex applications and records retention requirements all under limited IT budgets. With this newly signed distribution agreement, SMEs in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia-Pacific can now benefit from high-end storage functionality at a price point tailored for their budgets. In addition, Hitachi Data Systems and Ingram Micro will deliver solutions that have achieved Microsoft Simple SAN for Windows Server designation, enabling SMEs to implement and enjoy the benefits of networked storage easily and cost effectively without deployment headaches.
"We are committed to growing our presence in the worldwide SME market by developing tailored solutions and partnerships to execute on this strategy,” said Scott Genereux, executive vice president and general manager, Worldwide Sales, Channels, and Support. “Ingram Micro, with its global network of value added resellers, will now be able to help us greatly broaden our market reach and enable smaller enterprises to gain the benefits of our solutions."
"Hitachi Data Systems is regarded as an innovative leader in the storage market. We look forward to bringing the high-end functionality that Hitachi Data Systems is known for to new markets," said Kevin Murai, president and chief operating officer, Ingram Micro. “We're excited about the new opportunities these solutions present to our resellers."
“Ingram Micro has access to top quality, feature-rich products tailored for the market they serve,” said Tony Asaro, Sr. Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group. “Hitachi Data Systems gains a respected, effective partner who is focused on the SME. And, more importantly, the customers now have easy access to storage options, many of which are unique to Hitachi Data Systems that will improve their service delivery to their users.”
“For smaller organizations that lack a dedicated storage administrator, Microsoft’s Simple SAN initiative eases the complexity and improves the manageability of storage area networks,” said Dr. Claude Lorenson, Group Product Manager, Storage at Microsoft Corporation. “We are delighted that Hitachi Data Systems and Ingram Micro are delivering solutions that have achieved Microsoft Simple SAN for Windows Server designation to these organizations, this will greatly simplify deployments for our mutual customers.”
(See related press release, “Hitachi Data Systems Delivers First Microsoft-Designated Simple SAN Solution for Windows Server Environments.”)
Enterprise-Grade Data Protection and Reliability
The channel-optimized TagmaStore Adaptable Modular Storage and Workgroup Modular Storage product lines feature high-end functionality—Logical Cache Partitioning and Virtual Storage Ports with secure Host Storage Domains—not available on any other midrange systems, to help IT organizations optimize the performance of and provide secure data access to vital business applications, such as Microsoft Exchange, ERP, CRM, or databases.
For improved data protection, RAID-6, in addition to RAID-5, 1+0 and 1, is available on both lines, offering significantly increased availability by sustaining up to a two disk failure within a single RAID group.
To simplify storage area network (SAN) implementation and management for small and medium-sized enterprises, the AMS200 and WMS100 storage systems have been certified under Microsoft’s Simple SAN for Windows Server program. Hitachi Data Systems has collaborated with Microsoft to advance SAN simplification by ensuring interoperability, simplifying hardware setup and helping SME customers make informed SAN purchase decisions.
About Ingram Micro
As a vital link in the technology value chain, Ingram Micro creates sales and profitability opportunities for vendors and resellers through unique marketing programs, outsourced logistics services, technical support, financial services and product aggregation and distribution. The company serves 100 countries and is the only global IT distributor with operations in Asia. Visit
www.ingrammicro.comAbout Hitachi Data Systems
Hitachi Data Systems leverages global R&D resources to develop storage solutions built on industry-leading technology with the performance, availability and scalability to maximize customers' ROI and minimize their risk. By focusing on the customer's perspective as we apply the best hardware, software, and services from Hitachi and our partners, we uniquely satisfy our customers' business needs.
With approximately 2,900 employees, Hitachi Data Systems conducts business through direct and indirect channels in the public, government and private sectors in over 170 countries and regions. Its customers include more than 50 percent of Fortune 100 companies. For more information, please visit our Web site at
www.hds.com.
About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 347,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2004 (ended March 31, 2005) consolidated sales totaled 9,027.0 billion yen ($84.4 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company’s Website at
www.hitachi.com.
###
© 2006, Hitachi Data Systems Corporation. Hitachi Data Systems is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark and service mark of Hitachi, Ltd. TagmaStore is a trademark of Hitachi Data Systems Corporation. All other trade names, trademarks, and service marks used herein are the rightful property of their respective owners.