Indian firms to shift to Cloud services, says IDC report

Around 40 percent of Indian enterprises are considering the adoption of cloud services to save costs and compete in the challenging market environment reveals, an IDC report. Currently only five percent of the Indian enterprises have adopted cloud technology. "The main reason in India that is driving the interest towards cloud technologies, is its cost-cutting potential," says Surajit Sen, Director Channels, Marketing and Alliances at NetApp India, a storage and data management solutions provider.

Looking at the growing demand for cloud computing, NetApp has unveiled certain enhancements to its storage line. The company is particularly bullish on the Indian market, which is showing more interest to adopt cloud technologies.

"As the technologies supporting cloud computing have improved, the adoption is also set to grow now," said Alok Bardiya, Vice President, Managed Services and Marketing at Tata Communications, which is a cloud computing service provider in India. NetApp is the technology partner for Tata Communications, which has over a million square feet of datacenters around the globe including six datacenters in India.

NetApp unveiled the latest version of its Data ONTAP cloud platform called Data ONTAP 8. According to Sen, the Data ONTAP 8 is a combination of the earlier platforms Data ONTAP 7G and Data ONTAP GX. With this product offering, the company aims to increase the demand for cloud technologies in markets like India.

The Data ONTAP 8 comes with enhancements such as a new technology for seamlessly moving complete data volumes across multiple storage systems called Data Motion. Other enhancements include a new version of its add-on modules for increasing storage performance, an improved end to end multi-tenancy for better security and a new high-density capacity expansion device for its storage appliances.

Agencies

Is NetApp Set To Acquire Data Domain?

Storage vendor NetApp will acquire Data Domain that specializes in disk-based heterogenous back-up. Data Domain's portfolio will extend NetApp's ability to compete in the increasing number of installations wanting to minimize their reliance on tape.

Under the agreement that NetApp and Data Domain have entered into, NetApp will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Data Domain for $25 per share in cash and stock. The transaction is valued at approximately $1.5 billion.

"This combination is a great opportunity for both NetApp and Data Domain," said Dan Warmenhoven, chairman and CEO of NetApp.

"Data Domain is an innovative high-growth company with a complementary product line ideally suited for multi-vendor environments where customers want to minimize their use of tape for backup. NetApp has the distribution channels and international reach to offer Data Domain products to more customers, accelerating growth and market adoption. The combination of our two companies will increase NetApp's reputation for delivering both outstanding efficiency and operational breakthroughs to customers worldwide."

NetApp intends to operate Data Domain as a product line within NetApp's product operations organization. The Data Domain sales organization will be integrated with NetApp sales to maximize momentum and access new accounts.

"Notwithstanding the rapid record sales growth Data Domain has experienced over the past 5 years, with NetApp's distribution channel and customer base, we have an opportunity to accelerate even further," said Frank Slootman, president and CEO of Data Domain.

The Data Domain portfolio brings a complementary offering to NetApp, expanding NetApp's reach in the market for heterogeneous disk-based backup. Data Domain's portfolio will extend NetApp's ability to compete in the increasing number of installations wanting to minimize their reliance on tape. The Data Domain acquisition increases NetApp's ability to capitalize on the growth of disk-based backup adoption, especially as data deduplication gains traction.

cxotoday.com