IBM Maps Migration Strategy For EMC CustomersIBM Maps Migration Strategy For EMC Customers

More than ever, customers want to mix and match their storage vendors. At the high end especially, it's tough to separate EMC from IBM or Hitachi Data Systems. And that's just the way business-technology executives like it.

IBM said Wednesday that it hopes to make it easy for EMC customers who'd rather switch than migrate from older Symmetrix architectures to new networked DMX architectures. It's promising migration with little pain and increased performance on the other end with a move to the IBM Enterprise Storage Server.

The on-the-prowl vendor will go after customers in three waves. Around 100 IBM consultants and engineers are assigned to the migration service; during Evaluating Infrastructure, they'll help customers develop a new architecture with lower cost of ownership and better performance. In Assessing On Demand Infrastructure and Financing Options, IBM will provide an implementation plan, including On Demand requirements and financing options. Finally, during Deploying Solution, IBM and its systems-integrator business partners plan to work with new IBM migration appliances to move data from Symmetrix boxes to the Enterprise Storage Server.

One analyst says EMC and IBM will continue to slug it out. "But with the new appliance, IBM could take the data from EMC without impairing network performance," says Anne MacFarland at the Clipper Group. "And IBM could offer old Symmetrix customers better performance."