SRM Tools Get Loaded

As storage resource management (SRM) software vendors Precise Software Solutions (Nasdaq: PRSE) and Overland Storage Inc. (Nasdaq: OVRL) release enhanced versions of their software, they say they're getting more traction as enterprises look for ways to maximize their existing storage capacity.

SRM software, which lets administrators monitor and control storage utilization, is supposedly one of the most rapidly expanding sectors of the storage software market. IDC pegs the current market at $1.8 billion, growing to $4.6 billion by 2006 (see IDC Projects SRM Growth).

Now, vendors says, interest among end users in SRM tools is increasing markedly, especially as big players like IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) and Veritas Software Corp. (Nasdaq: VRTS) enter the space. IBM last year bought SRM developer TrelliSoft; and Veritas is in the midst of acquiring Precise, a deal that is expected to close early in the second quarter (see Veritas Gets Precise and IBM Snaps Up TrelliSoft).

"Customers are saying, 'Don't give me more hardware -- give me the tools to manage it better,' " says Steven Toole, VP of marketing and business development for Precise's SRM division. Precise itself is a relatively recent entrant to SRM, having bought W. Quinn Associates, one of the first vendors to address the market, in September 2001.

Now Precise has developed support for Network Appliance Inc. (Nasdaq: NTAP) filers, extending its ability to monitor NAS beyond Microsoft Corp.-based systems."This gives us access to the nearly additional half of the NAS market that's occupied by Network Appliance," Toole says.

On average, Precise claims, its SRM tool has helped more than 4,500 customers reclaim 30 percent of their storage capacity. Precise/StorageCentral SRM 5.1, which includes support for NetApp's Data Ontap 6.4 operating system, is slated to be available March 3.

Meanwhile, Overland -- which a year ago branched into software from its traditional tape backup roots -- has started shipping version 3 of its SRM package, which among other enhancements improves cross-platform support. Overland licenses the software from Astrum Software Corp. and adds some of its own features to it (see Overland Upgrades SRM Tool and Overland Takes Software Route).

John Cloyd, VP and GM of Overland's software business, agrees that customers are giving SRM a closer look than they have before. "Customers are starting to pull us along," he says. "The signs are there that this is becoming real."

Version 3 of the Overland SRM software provides active resource management for Windows NT and 2000, Novell NetWare, Sun Solaris, HP-UX, IBM AIX, and Red Hat Linux. Previously, the software could run file scans in these operating systems, but not take action.Cloyd also says the new version of software is much more scaleable: On a single server, Overland SRM 3 can support up to 20 million files. "Other people will take 20 to 30 hours to scan that," he says. "We can scan that, load it in the database, and be up and running in 8 hours."

Overland's SRM customers include tech products distributor Bell Microproducts (Nasdaq: BELM) and Government Employees Hospital Association Inc. (GEHA), the federal health plan provider.

Adds Cloyd, "Nobody has an 'SRM project.' They have server consolidation or data migration projects. SRM only delivers value in the context of one of those projects."

Another SRM player, Dallas-based startup Tek-Tools Inc.