Softek Offers Storage Assessment Tools Free To VARs

The Softek Storage Health Assessment program includes tools, reports and step-by-step procedures to evaluate storage networks, said Erna Arnesen, vice president of worldwide channels at the company, formerly known as Fujitsu Softek.

The program, based on the company's Softek Storage Manager, a storage resource management (SRM) application, allows solution providers to do a onetime snapshot of a client's storage network structure, Arnesen said. Such a snapshot is suitable for an infrastructure with about 15 servers or fewer with a total storage capacity of 5 Tbytes or less and takes about two or three days to collect the information and generate reports.

Once the reports are finalized, solution providers can use the information to provide recommendations to customers on how to better manage their storage networks, Arnesen said. Solution providers also can use the information to discuss the need for a deeper audit of the customer's infrastructure, including a utilization and future capacity analysis, she said.

The software used in the Softek Storage Health Assessment program is the same SRM application found in Softek Storage Manager, except that it has been optimized for a onetime assessment of the infrastructure, Arnesen said. Solution providers can use the application free-of-charge on a onetime basis per client and can in turn provide the assessment for a fee or for free, she said.

As part of the program, Softek is planning a marketing campaign aimed at the end-user community to tell about the need for the storage infrastructure snapshot, with all leads generated from the program slated to be passed to solution providers., Arnesen said.

The Softek Storage Health Assessment came about from Softek meeting customers with solution providers, said Don James, executive vice president of sales and marketing at FusionStorm, a San Francisco-based solution provider.

Most customers have few details about what they have and don't have in their storage infrastructures, James said. "With the snapshot, they can get at least a point-in-time look at their infrastructure," he said.

Such a snapshot could lead to more service and sales opportunities, depending on the results, James said. "It could lead to more services revenue," he said. "Or if we find a customer is already utilizing 92 percent of capacity, it could mean more storage product sales."