By Richard Arneson
If your backyard is the size of Greenwich Village apartment, you probably wouldn’t buy a tractor with a mulching attachment to mow the lawn. The same holds true for technology solutions. Why should only the biggest of the biggies get to enjoy best-of-breed, cutting-edge technology solutions? And why should they have to pay higher prices, only to be told that economies of scale prevent them from enjoying more aggressive pricing? Well, based on the recent introduction of its next generation PowerVault ME4 Series family of storage arrays, Dell EMC’s answer is obvious―They shouldn’t.
Small- and Medium-Sized (SMB) companies not only compose the vast majority of businesses in the United States, but they account for well over fifty percent (50%) of all sales. Those figures aren’t lost on Dell EMC; they obviously understand the importance of providing solutions to those businesses who fill up the SMB space. Their PowerVault ME4 storage arrays allow SMBs to purchase storage arrays that perfectly fit their needs and come at a budget-friendly, easily-digestible price point.
A storage solution that meets the demands unique to SMBs
The importance of workloads is every bit as important to small- and medium-sized businesses. Theirs might come in slightly different flavors, however, and can include everything from databases and disk backups, to applications needing a solid SAN/DAS solution and virtual desktop infrastructures (VDI). But smaller companies with fewer IT staffs are met with everything their enterprise counterparts are; namely, the expectation to manage diverse sets of IT infrastructure solutions.
The initial phase of Dell EMC’s goal to deliver a simplified storage portfolio was accomplished in early 2018 when they introduced PowerMax, its enterprise-class solution.
Not their first SMB Storage Solution rodeo
The reason behind Dell EMC’s introduction of PowerMax and PowerVault ME4 can be boiled down to one (1) word―simplification. But that’s not to say they haven’t been delivering great storage solutions for the SMB market. The IDC’s Q2Y2018 Worldwide Quarterly Enterprise Storage Tracker listed Dell EMC as the leader in the entry storage market. In fact, they hold a thirty-one percent (31%) revenue share in this segment. With its introduction of PowerMax and PowerVault ME4, that percentage will soon get larger.
More features, three (3) great options to choose from
The PowerVault ME4 solutions portfolio, while certainly delivering simplicity, features a number of improvement over their previous storage offerings, including larger capacity, faster performance and all-inclusive software.
Dell EMC’s PowerVault ME4 solution comes in three (3) different flavors to accommodate the precise needs of the SMB market. The ME4012 features twelve (12) drives in a 2U (3.5” high) profile and the ME4024, also 2U, comes with twenty-four (24) drives. Its big dog, the ME 4084, is a 5U (19” high) array with eighty-four (84) drives. Their starting price is staggeringly low and can comfortably fit into any IT budget.
The PowerVault ME4 solutions are highly-optimized and purpose-built for SAN and DAS environments, can be configured from 0-100% flash, are expandable up to 4PB and can drive up to 320K IOP. And, as previously mentioned, all include the software you’ll need to manage, store and protect your data. And whether connecting to a high- availability SAN environment or integrated with a Dell EMC PowerEdge Server, simplification is the operative word. And they can be quickly configured with a new intuitive HTML5 web-based interface, so management can be conducted anywhere, at any time.
If the primary word is simplification, protection isn’t far behind
With PowerVault ME4 arrays, RTOs (recovery time objectives) and RPOs (recovery point objectives) can be addressed and met through snapshots and IP replication and asynchronous multi-site FC capabilities. The result? Data protection and robust disaster recovery options.
Need more info about Dell EMC storage solutions?
Turn to the storage experts at GDT. For the past twenty-two (22) years, GDT has been a leading network and systems integrator by partnering with industry leaders, such as Dell EMC, HPE, Cisco, VMware, Pure Networks, Citrix, F5 Networks, and dozens of others. Our tenured, talented solutions architects and engineers deliver customized, cutting-edge client solutions with best-of-breed technologies that lead customers on their digital transformation journey. For more information about your storage solutions options― whether you’re in the SMB or enterprise market―contact GDT’s solutions architects or engineers at SolutionsArchitects@gdt.com or at Engineering@gdt.com. They’d love to hear from you.
