The new offerings, unveiled at the Storage Networking World conference in San Diego, involve the System Storage DS3200 and DS3400, which are disk arrays that feature integrated management software for SMBs, and departments of large organizations. Bundled in the new configurations are controllers, cables, host bus adapters and other components.
In addition, IBM introduced services for the SMB storage market. The services include help with using IBM's Content Manager, CommonStore for Mail, and Records Manager technology. In addition, IBM is offering storage optimization and integration, and data migration services.
Pricing for the newly configured System Storage products starts at $4,200. The new SMB services are available through IBM Global Technology Services.
IBM and its rivals -- Hewlett-Packard and EMC -- believe SMBs are among the best prospects for new storage customers since the segment as a whole underutilizes technology. Some analysts believe the storage market in general will double over the next three years, with a sizable portion coming from SMBs.
