Hitachi Turns Storage Green

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Hitachi Data Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT) and the only provider of Services Oriented Storage Solutions, today announced a portfolio of enhancements across its midrange storage system lineup designed to help clients address top business concerns stemming from rising energy costs, looming energy surcharges, data center and floor space consumption and the need for heightened security across IT deployments.

Continuing on its trajectory of infusing its Adaptable Modular Storage (AMS) and Workgroup Modular Storage (WMS) systems with innovations that solve pressing client business needs, Hitachi today announced the following specific enhancements:

New Power Savings Storage Service

As part of its Services Oriented Storage Solutions strategy, Hitachi today announced a new Power Savings capability for the AMS and WMS midrange lineup, which can be invoked by clients or applications as a storage service on an as-needed basis. The new Power Savings Storage Service enables customers to power down volumes (disks) when not being accessed by a business application. The volumes can then be powered up quickly when the application requires them.

"By introducing the ability to spin drives up and down according to application needs, Hitachi has significantly reduced power and cooling requirements, said Dave Vellante, CEO of leading CIO consultancy, ITCentrix. “Our models show this approach is especially effective in backup and archive environments and can lower power and cooling costs by more than 20 percent relative to traditional modular arrays. With this announcement, Hitachi continues to demonstrate innovation and its leadership in green storage.”Hitachi Data Systems (HDS)