EMC Rolling Out Storage Assessment Service To Channel

The VisualSRM Assessment Service is based on storage resource management software the EMC got with its acquisition of Astrum Software two years ago, said Jim Franklin, senior software product marketing manager for EMC.

The service was quietly rolled out to EMC Velocity channel partners earlier this month, and is expected to be announced to the company's legacy Legato partners next month.

With the new service, solution providers who already have a storage assessment practice can help customers scan their file systems, Exchange mail servers, and Oracle, Sybase, and SQL databases to get detailed information on storage device utilization, said Franklin.

The information from the assessment can be used to help customers set up business policies related to data backups and to initiate the movement of data from one device to another based on factors such as last access date or last backup date, he said.

In September, EMC plans to integrate VisualSRM with its diskXtender software for automating the migration of data. "This will get small and midsize enterprises started with ILM (information lifecycle management), and leverage their tiered storage to move the data," Franklin said.

Solution providers can offer the service to their customers with a 60-day license, with versions available for various data capacity amounts, said Franklin. VARs can charge customers according to their own requirements. Customers can also purchase the software outright, with the solution provider getting a discount to the price of the software equal to what the solution provider paid for the temporary license, he said.