Legal Eagle Goes With EMC For Business-Continuity Project

When law firm Paul, Hastings, Janfosky & Walker LLP needed an ironclad business-continuity process, the company didn't have to look far for help. The dyed-in-the-wool EMC Corp. shop is testing software that will allow it to mirror data between headquarters in Los Angeles and someplace else in the United States.

This is no corner law firm. Stova Wong, director of network and telecommunications at Paul, Hastings, supports 2,000 users. He oversees 4 terabytes of data supporting a mix of HP-UX and Dell Windows 2000 servers. The IT staff is testing Symmetrix Remote Data Facility for the mirroring intelligence behind long-distance business continuity. Staffers are also testing EMC Timefinder software, which will let them mirror both sites while people are at work, for protection all the time. They hope to have the architecture and process in place by year's end.

Wong had the hardware in place before the software. The law firm in March brought in the high-end EMC Symmetrix system for databases and the like, along with the Celerra network-attached storage for file storage, movement, and management. Wong won't say how much less EMC is charging now compared with its days as the premium storage system firm, but says he's spending "much" less than he would have two years ago.

But price wasn't the driver behind EMC's dominance at Paul, Hastings. Wong says EMC has experience with the legal community. "EMC had the referenceable accounts," he says, "and the knowledge base in their team to service our environment."