Hardware, software vendor support for Plasmon`s UDO grows

Johannesburg, 31 Aug 2004

Plasmon, the market leader for professional data archival solutions, announced that more than 30 independent software vendors across the world have joined IBM, HP and Sun to offer storage management and application software support packages for media, drives and libraries based around Plasmon UDO (Ultra Density Optical Technology).

This pervasive hardware, operating system and software support, which includes offerings from EMC Corp, Tivoli and Veritas, provides customers with a wide variety of options when implementing UDO archival solutions. "Having so many hardware, operating system, software and software products to support the technology enables UDO libraries and drives to be used in the vast majority of archival storage applications," says Alan Leader Director of Inside Information Systems, distributor of Optical storage solutions.

Designed to address data-intensive archival applications found in environments demanding 24x7x365 reliability, the Plasmon G-Series UDO libraries complement any organisation`s storage, business continuity and disaster recovery requirements.

For example, the Plasmon G-Series libraries can be used with the VERITAS Data Lifecycle Manager solution (by utilising Pegasus InveStore) as well as IBM Tivoli Storage Manager v. 5.1 software. The VERITAS DLM, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager or EMC LEGATO DiskXtender 2000 and EMC LEGATO ArchiveXtender software solutions based on Plasmon UDO to provide intelligent data management (IDM) solutions that can create a high performance solution for protecting and managing mission-critical business information in enterprise-wide storage area network (SAN) and traditional network environments.

Other vendors supporting UDO include FileNet, DST, Ixos, ADIC, Computer Associates, Qstar, Unisys and SUN Microsystems. For a full list of vendors, please go to http://www.udo.com/index1.html

UDO

Designed for organisations seeking secure retention of important information, UDO succeeds 5.25-inch MO (Magneto Optical) technology as the new professional optical storage standard. However, UDO breaks the mould for optical storage solutions with increased storage capacity and dramatically lower archival storage costs. For a copy of a total cost of ownership analysis comparing tape, MO, DVD, UDO and EMC Centera, go to http://www.iis.co.za/WPapers_form.htm.

UDO features blue laser recording rather than the red lasers used in previous optical drives such as MO and DVD. Blue lasers achieve far greater data densities, resulting in dramatically higher media capacities. First generation UDO products will have a capacity of 30GB, with capacity reaching 120GB by the third generation. Drive and media capacity are scheduled to double every 18 to 24 months. The densities achieved through blue lasers allow UDO to be priced at $2.00/GB in the first generation, one-fifth the price of MO media. The Phase Change recording technology used by UDO is field-proven and highly stable. With absolute authenticity and a media life of 50+ years, UDO meets the most demanding requirements of regulatory agencies and other authorities for the secure, long-term storage of information.

Plasmon

Plasmon is the world leader in professional archival solutions, providing a comprehensive line of optical libraries, drives and media. Customers include corporations, institutions and government agencies worldwide and are backed by a global service and support network. Founded in 1985, Plasmon is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: PLM). Worldwide headquarters are in Cambridge, England with US Sales and Manufacturing based in Colorado.

Inside Information Systems

Inside Information Systems (IIS), located in Johannesburg, was originally founded in 1991 as an IT consultancy specialising in electronic document management and workflow technologies. IIS has evolved its offering to include the distribution, implementation and support of information lifecycle management, enterprise content management, and archival storage products services and solutions.

IIS is the southern African service and distribution partner for Plasmon Data Systems large format optical libraries and a distribution partner for Plasmon Ultra Density Optical (UDO) systems, Pegasus Storage Management Software, Xythos Web-File Sharing software and SER Enterprise Content Management solutions.

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Hardware, software vendor support for Plasmon`s UDO grows

Over 30 ISVs join IBM, Sun and HP to support Plasmon UDO media, drives and libraries worldwide