Brief

HP’s Storage Division targets Indian SMBs

With the exponential growth in the volume of data, there is growing concern over data storage. Manufacturers across the globe have come out with a wide range of offerings to satisfy the increasing demands for data storage. Hewlett-Packard’s Storage Works Division (HP SWD), after establishing itself in the storage market, has now turned its attention to the Indian SMB market.

Qing Qio Li

Qing Qio Li, Product Manager, Network Storage Solutions, APAC, HP says, “HP has always tried to adopt the latest technologies while keeping the requirements of the customer in mind. It has a wide range of products in the storage market, starting from the entry level and going up to the enterprise level.” He adds that the modular levels of storage solutions are the best for the Indian SMB customer.

HP has launched the EVA 4000, 6000 and 8000 suite of products particularly for the SMBs. Though it already has the EVA 3000 and EVA 5000, the launch of these series of suites will expand the reach of the company, says Li. HP has the XP and MSA range of suites to address enterprise-level and entry-level customers. To address the increasing demand for data storage, the company is also planning to introduce more products in the coming days.

As there are growing doubts over the use of SAN and NAS due to the cost of fibre channel, HP has introduced the iSCSI (Internet Small Computer System Interface) technology in its storage solutions for the price-sensitive SMB customer. Consolidating storage resources will deliver definitive advantages in the face of expensive fibre channel technology which makes network storage prohibitive. The iSCSI protocol comes as a breath of fresh air for small and medium companies. Also, to upgrade to iSCSI storage solutions, customers do not have to upgrade their existing hardware. Easy implementation, cost-effectiveness and scalability are the factors looked out for by the SMB segment which HP has already addressed.

Elaborating on the company’s plans for this year, Rahul Singh, Marketing Manager, HP SWD said, “We have dedicated this year as the channel enhancement year. We are looking to expand our channel base to expand our reach among SMB customers.” The Simply Storage Works programme launched last year has brought tremendous response, according to Singh. The company is also providing help to customers who don’t have proper IT skills through training and education about their products and the use/implementation of the same. About the target verticals, Singh reveals that telecom, BFSI and manufacturing are the sectors HP is looking at to broaden its base; it has already made inroads into the government sector.

— Chirasrota Jena