McData CEO: Outsourced back-up just got easier

Storage area networking over vast distances is becoming a reality - and may even open up a market for outsourced remote back up of data.

That's the view of John Kelley, CEO of storage switch vendor McData, which is touting storage area networks (SANs) that connect from afar using IP.

Traditionally, SANs are based on the Fibre Channel standard, however, using IP, as pioneered by Nishan - recently acquired by McData - and others such as Cisco, can stretch their usefulness beyond the traditional 10km.

"We may be given a storage or SAN tag but we're [also] in the business of networking," Kelley told silicon.com during a visit to see customers in London. "What Nishan means is that every Global 2000 company we have [as a customer] now has the capability to do something that has only been theoretical up to now."

SANs are now commonplace - Dell even claims to sell standardised configurations into a large proportion of user sites - meaning some organisations will look to the next stage of networking their storage between distant locations.

Like most storage vendors, McData is looking at ways to grow in a market that has shrunk overall in recent years as the price of storage has fallen quickly. Kelley added: "I couldn't be more optimistic and that's not just because of a turnaround in the economy."

The company will look to supply service providers that will offer to back up sites at distance. For example Canadian telco Telus has replication facilities between companies in Toronto and far away Calgary.

Separately, McData executives have denied the company is too dependent on EMC as a channel partner - though it will use them to spread out more sales through high-end rivals HDS and IBM - and denied price pressure will affect its core switch buyers.

Tom Clark, McData director SAN Technology, said: "Our high-end customers aren't going to cheap out. At the high end the director [McData product] is the least of the cost, much less than server farms and so on."

The company reports third-quarter results on 1 December but has already warned revenue will be $93-$95m - down from an earlier forecast of $107-$112m - with analysts speculating pressure from EMC on pricing is to blame.