Solutions for storage Tandberg Data

SOLUTIONS FOR STORAGE

Tandberg Data develops and manufactures data protection solutions for small and mediumsized businesses. Felicity Landon reports on a company with global presence – and ambitions for growth.

Tandberg Data has more than 30 years’ experience in providing data storage protection for businesses around the globe. However, the history and roots of the company go back much further, to the founding of the Tandberg Radio Factory in 1933. This legacy fostered a culture of engineering innovation leading to Tandberg Data’s breakthrough in magnetic recording technology and, in particular, the development of the Tandberg SLR (Scalable Linear Recording) tape storage product platform.

Tandberg Data was established in 1979 as a standalone data division when the Tandberg Radio Factory was dissolved into separate entities. At this time, several other organisations were established carrying the Tandberg name, each pursuing different business opportunities. In the 1990s, the company expanded its worldwide presence by setting up subsidiaries in Japan, Singapore and the UK and, around this time, it incorporated LCD video projectors into its product portfolio. The diversification ended in 1996, when Tandberg

Data shifted to a 100 per cent focus on information storage products.

Today, Tandberg Data is a leading global supplier of data protection solutions and the majority of its revenue comes from tape drives, tape automation and media.

“We have sold more than four million tape products since the company started,” says Graham Paterson, senior vice president of sales and marketing for EMEA. “In the past five years, Tandberg Data has also invested in the development of removable disk as well as disk-based network-attached solutions that include deduplication software technology, broadening its product spectrum.” Tandberg Data is the market leader in RDX removable disk technology, he adds.

A good start

The first two months of 2011 represented an excellent start to the year for the company. In January, it was confirmed that Tandberg Data’s AccuVault RDX-based Data Protection Solution had been selected as a finalist for the 2010 Storage Magazine/ SearchStorage.com Products of the Year Awards, and in February it was announced that the product had gained a bronze award in the Backup Hardware category.

Also in January, Tandberg Data launched the industry’s first removable disk library for SMB data protection. The versatile multi-cartridge RDX QuikStation blends the removability, durability and economy of tape with the random access, performance and reliability of disk.

Tandberg Data’s corporate headquarters are in Dortmund, Germany, and the company has subsidiaries in the United States, France, Norway, Hong Kong, Singapore and

The Solid Systems Group has been delivering World Class third party multi vendor support for major IT manufacturers and multinational organizations over the past 35 years. The Solid Systems Group is a privately owned organization, HQ in Derby, committed to delivering solutions that improve the reliability and performance of its customers’ infrastructure and products.

With our experience in Storage and Migration consulting, support services (7x24 On-site, depot Repair, Logistics and Technical Helpdesk / Remote support), which services are the core foundation of our business, Solid Systems can help organizations lower their costs, optimize revenue and manage risk within their IT infrastructure. Solid Systems / Connexion Point MVS have a service presence in 92 countries Worldwide, providing direct support through our own team and through seasoned and professional long standing partners. We have direct presence in the UK, Ireland, France, Benelux, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Israel, India, Singapore and Brazil With expanding opportunities, we recently added our new regional office in Singapore supporting our offices in Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea,Taiwan, India and Hong Kong.

Our unique Worldwide reach, allows current and potential Multinational clients a means of outsourcing their Worldwide service delivery needs through one organization. Simple to manage and to control, minimizing management intervention and allowing one single point of contact to contract and manage across the World. Connexion Point MVS became part of the by Solid Systems Group at the end of 2010 and have moved to new bespoke offices at Trinity court in Wokingham, Berkshire, within easy distance from Heathrow in the M4 corridor. The new state of the art 3,500 sq ft office space, provides an excellent location to support the growth plans for the company in 2011. These new offices encompass dedicated storage facilities, a state of the art technical laboratory and its sales and administrative teams.

For more information please contact the SSCS office in your country France: +33 148178540 | UK: +44 118 9070164 | NL: +31 654722603 | Germany: +49 32221079850

Japan, as well as affiliates in India and China. Its main manufacturing facility is located in China, outside Hong Kong – the acquisition of this facility being one of Tandberg Data’s most important recent investments.

All of Tandberg Data’s data protection solutions are supported through a worldwide service and support network, which has been recognised for its outstanding levels of service. The solutions themselves work with all major operating systems and software applications, and are designed to meet the growing storage requirements of small and medium-sized organisations, with scalability, reliability and backward compatibility features that ensure cost-effective operation and longterm investment protection.

As Tandberg Data says: “No one wants to back up data. It’s done because there’s the ever-present chance of a data failure, and then a restore is needed. That is when your data backup solutions become critical. They must perform or data can be lost.”

Marketing partners

Marketing of all its solutions is through a global channel of qualified resellers and distributors. Tandberg Data also partners with major server OEMs, including Apple, Fujitsu, HP, Hitachi, IBM, Maxwell, NEC and Toshiba. “We sell 100 per cent through the channel on a global scale; we have had a global presence for years,” says Mr. Paterson. “We see huge growth opportunities in APAC, but Europe and the US are our strongholds.”

Tandberg Data mostly serves companies in the SMB/SME arena – it is not targeting specific sectors, as its products are relevant to any business. The company’s wide selection of business-grade storage solutions includes disk-based appliances, tape drives and tape-based solutions, autoload-

ers, libraries, removable disk systems and libraries, media, and robust deduplication software for backup, restore, archiving and disaster recovery applications.

Its solutions range from the RDX QuikStor removable disk system, the DPS2000 NAS Series, the AccuVault Data Protection Series, and the new innovative removable disk library RDX QuikStation to automated tape solutions such as the Tandberg Data StorageLoader and StorageLibrary Series. Tandberg Data also offers tape drives, based on the LTO, DAT, SLR and VXA tape technology platforms, and media.

“Tandberg Data solutions are supported by AccuGuard, a robust, easy-to-use deduplication software. A worldwide service and support network, recognised globally for its outstanding levels of service, underpins all our solutions,” says Mr. Paterson. “In addition to a standard warranty and support, Tandberg Data provides customers with upgrades for onsite service, giving customers further peace of mind.”

Investment in R&D and innovation is central to Tandberg Data’s operations, of course. There has been particular focus on the introduction of new disk-based and removable disk appliances in recent times. R&D is also seen as critical to future growth: “We will grow through new product introductions/R&D,” says Mr. Paterson.

Tandberg Data has opportunities to grow its business through new product introductions in the broader data protection segment – especially introducing more disk-based appliances and services, he says. But, in addition, the company is looking at acquisitions to support future growth. Building a strong geographical presence in all regions is also a key target. n

www.tandbergdata.com