Ash Ashutosh, CEO of Actifio (http://www.actifio.com/), says:

Actifio™, the Protection and Availability Storage (PAS) Platform Company, recently announced a collaboration with IBM to deliver new virtualized storage offerings that help service providers get their clients into the cloud.

To date, service providers and Value Added Resellers (VARs) have been unable to deliver on the promise of the economics of the cloud due to their use of traditional technologies and IT architectures that create silos of physical infrastructure and applications. By combining server, storage and data management virtualization technologies, with a purpose-built Service Level Agreement (SLA)-driven operational model, Actifio and IBM will be able to deliver solutions that break down the cost, complexity and operational barriers to cloud-based storage solutions.

As a result, service providers can offer a wide range of cloud storage services cost-effectively to end-users while realizing strong margins and improved SLAs associated with cloud applications.

“The combination of Actifio and IBM enables us to deliver a more robust set of cloud services to our customers,” said Actifio customer and NaviSite President R. Brooks Borcherding. “It allows us to deploy a more cost effective network, better manage our data, and deliver new self service enhancements. As a result, our customers gain increased visibility and management control over their cloud storage environments from NaviSite.”

“2012 is the year when the critical mass of technologies and market momentum comes together to deliver on the promise of the cloud. End-to-end virtualization of the IT stack delivered by the Actifio and IBM solution is key to transforming IT into a cloud service, private or public, delivered at an unprecedented low cost point,” said Ash Ashutosh, Founder and CEO of Actifio. “With technology crossing the tipping point, VARs can become service providers and, along with existing service providers, deliver differentiated data management services quickly and cost-effectively, supported by IBM’s global delivery capabilities.”