Storage Management Services: Technical Summary
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- Executive Overview
- Business Case
- Technical Summary
Higher Quality and Lower Cost. It's Part of the Process.
To build a cost-effective information technology (IT) environment, it's not enough to have reliable and available data storage. All data is not created equal, so you need a way to balance the costs of storing and retrieving your data with the value it delivers to your company.
EDS helps you do this through a proprietary process that allows you to assign various values to your information based on its business value and required accessibility. Once complete, you control costs by using higher-quality storage for high-value, mission-critical data, while choosing effective, yet more cost-appropriate options for other data.
Finding the Perfect Fit For Your Data
Our storage management solution is based on an Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) strategy, which maintains your storage at the least possible cost, while maintaining the appropriate levels of availability. To create the foundation needed to implement an ILM strategy, we offer a Storage Rationalization Assessment that includes the following steps:
- First, we take a snapshot of your current storage systems and data placement, which provides a starting point for the transformation process.
- Next, we identify the appropriate placement of your data to provide maximum performance and cost efficiency. Various data groups will be stored and managed via four tiers:
- Enterprise Storage
- Departmental Storage Area Network (SAN)
- Departmental Network Attached Storage (NAS)
- Workplace Storage
- The recommended plan reveals cost savings, as well as opportunities to improve performance by shifting noncritical data to more cost-effective tiers.
- A cost-savings road map is also generated, projecting anticipated return on investment (ROI) and pay-back period for the migration.
The assessment helps ensure an orderly transition to EDS Storage Management Services and defines realistic expectations for cost savings and performance.
Tiered Approach Provides Flexibility
By taking a unique approach to storage management, we can help you effectively address a variety of storage concerns, including:
- Scalability to address rapid or unexpected storage growth
- Ability to control costs and reduce risks
- Ability to manage complexity and bring ITIL®-based standardization to your storage environment
- Accessibility of mission-critical data across your enterprise
- Authenticity to address regulatory compliance
- Waste reduction and improved environmental footprint
EDS allows you to use storage as a flexible service rather than a dedicated hardware solution based on fixed assets. These services meet the demands for deployment across remote storage locations, centralized data centers or mission-critical applications. Our Storage Management Services are packaged within four distinct tiers: Enterprise Storage, Departmental SAN, Departmental NAS and Workplace Storage.
Figure 1 – Aligning Information Assets Reduces Costs and Increases Efficiency
Enterprise Storage
Enterprise Storage delivers a scalable, highly available service in a performance-based SAN environment. Performance options include:
- Performance Storage: Addresses your mission-critical data and ultra-high-performance requirements
- Standard Storage: Addresses your mission-critical data and high-performance requirements
- Capacity Storage: Addresses your business needs with mid-level performance and a cost-effective solution
- Bulk Storage: Addresses your business needs with basic performance and an extremely cost-effective solution
Departmental SAN
Departmental SAN accommodates traditional data center demands using managed services tailored to meet typical application requirements and business loads. This allows for a cost-effective entry point into a sophisticated storage area network environment. Performance options include:
- Performance Storage: Addresses your important data with ultra-high-performance requirements
- Standard Storage: Addresses your important data with high-performance requirements
- Capacity Storage: Addresses your business needs with mid-level performance and a cost-effective solution
- Bulk Storage: Addresses your business needs with basic performance and a very cost-effective solution
Departmental NAS
Departmental NAS supports small to large non-enterprise applications or small groups with a dedicated, centralized network attached storage solution. It provides a cost-effective, managed data center solution at centralized locations and is a very attractive alternative for Windows Common Internet File System (CIFS) data or Network File System (NFS) data.
This flexible service provides a “stepping stone” as business requirements change. You can start with a high-level of storage services, then scale storage platform loads as your business requires. This platform is intended to provide a fully managed solution with lower initial data quantities than are common with SAN storage.
Workplace Storage
Workplace Storage provides a dedicated, remote NAS solution used by end-users or small to medium groups for consolidating several file shares or application servers sharing networked attached storage.
The solution is designed for your site or a third-party site where services, infrastructure and networking technology meet EDS' minimum standards. EDS remotely manages the equipment and integrated antivirus protection for Windows Common Internet File System (CIFS) data or Network File System (NSF) data.
The Benefits of an Integrated Suite
Solutia
When it came time to find new, innovative ways to lower enterprisewide expenses and improve business processes, Solutia collaborated with its trusted IT provider, EDS.
Our Storage Management Services suite provides the following common features:
- Tested architecture and configurations based on best-in-class technology
- A suite of information-centric, flexible, managed backup and protection services
- Management services including monitoring, maintenance, change management, problem management and support services for assets
- Cost-effective storage management, either centralized or locally delivered across consolidated open systems or Wintel environments with support for multiple heterogeneous hosts
- Multidimensional scaling for tailoring storage configuration to application needs
- Environmentally responsible storage infrastructure that reduces excess storage capacity, uses high-density disks and provides the opportunity to consolidate storage across multiple data centers
- Support for Common Internet File System (CIFS) and Network File System (NFS) file-sharing protocols
- Continuous operational support – 24 hours a day, every day
- Technology refresh services
- Cost-effective, secure remote management
Choose EDS
You'll benefit from our fully integrated suite of storage services, flexibility and unlimited scalability. Our approach that not only protects your data, but also helps you control costs, which makes EDS the right choice for your storage management needs.
- Download the Storage Management Services At-A-Glance PDF, 118K
- Download the Workplace Storage Fact Sheet PDF, 159K
- Download the Departmental NAS Fact Sheet PDF, 166K
- Download the Managed SAN Fact Sheet PDF, 162K
- Download the Information Lifecycle Management Fact Sheet PDF, 1.1M
- Download the Storage Rationalization Assessment Fact Sheet PDF, 141K
For more information about what EDS can do for you, submit a business inquiry.

Consumer Industries & Retail Industry
EDS is behind the continued success of consumer industries & retail companies. Our Storage Management Services let them pay for the storage they need when they need it and gives them peace of mind because their valuable data is secure.