NetApp Takes On SMBs With StoreVault

For Incentra Solutions' Barry Andersen, a door of opportunity has just opened wide. If the solution provider can drum up a powerful enough marketing campaign, it can convince a huge base of midmarket end users to consider buying a Network Appliance StoreVault server.

That's because NetApp, one of Incentra's vendor partners, isn't targeting just enterprises anymore. With the launch of StoreVault, a new business unit offering products by the same name, the company is filling out its line card and targeting new servers specifically at SMBs.

"NetApp is taking the high quality they're known for and bringing it down to smaller companies," says Andersen, senior vice president of strategic partnerships at Boulder, Colo.-based Incentra. "They've made start-up painless--a recent installation took all of 7 minutes--and the offerings affordable--users get a 3-terabyte configuration for about $5,000."

The launch of StoreVault comes just two months after NetApp positioned itself as a key rival of EMC and Hewlett-Packard by going after the high-end storage market.

NetApp executives say StoreVault products will be sold 100 percent through the channel. The vendor signed on Tech Data as its exclusive distributor but didn't rule out the possibility of adding others in the future.

"The channel story is a critical component," says Sajai Krishnan, general manager of NetApp's StoreVault business unit. "These products will not be carried by our direct-sales force, and there will be no [Web site] where customers can buy them."

NetApp officials declined to say exactly how many channel partners it has signed on to the StoreVault initiative so far, but there are fewer than 100 recruits right now, Krishnan says.

In addition, NetApp's sales force will not receive commissions for pointing customers to StoreVault products, says Leonard Iventosch, NetApp's vice president of channels.

With StoreVault, NetApp takes on EMC at the low end of the server arena. Four months ago, EMC unveiled its Insignia brand for SMBs, but NetApp execs claim that the vendor is offering a richer set of products than its rival.

The new business unit's first product, the StoreVault S500, starts at $5,000 and can function both as networked-attached storage and as a SAN. Initially, the S500 will support SATA drives in configurations of 250 GB or 500 GB. With the capacity for 12 drives, that will provide an upper limit of 6 TB.

The system, whose compact form factor is a testament to NetApp's efforts in the SMB space, will run the vendor's DataOnTap software, but execs emphasize that the S500 is not upgradable. The initial release is iSCSI-compatible and is certified under Microsoft's SimpleSAN program.

In the fall, NetApp will add Fibre Channel support to the S500 via the StoreVault DC Starter Kit from QLogic.

As an option for those who need better performance from the host, NetApp is offering Silverback Systems' iSNAP 2110 iSCSI host-bus adapter, which accelerates iSCSI and TCP/IP protocols.

Meanwhile, the StoreVault line holds the promise of more server sales and a host of upsell opportunities for Incentra and other solution providers.

"Through deal registration, NetApp has promised us very attractive margins on these products. They've inspired us to sell," Andersen says. "The challenge for us is to get to this [midmarket] customer base, which is about three times the size of the base we work with currently. This is a great door-opener. We don't want to just sell SMBs StoreVault servers. We want to establish a relationship with these customers--work with them on security and infrastructure."