Dell Inc. (Nasdaq: DELL) said on Monday that it is working with EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) and Quantum Corp. (NYSE: QTM) to develop a common architecture for data de-duplication that will work across most of its storage platforms. Dell said it expects to begin shipping systems using the technology early next year.
Dell already offers a variety of data de-duplication technology from its partners on several storage systems. However, the company said plans to offer a target-based system that works with its PowerVault, EqualLogic, and Dell/EMC product lines, and helps to make backup and disaster recovery easier and faster.
"Data de-duplication is far from being an open standard," Brett Roscoe, a senior manager for storage at Dell, tells Byte and Switch. "We are seeking to provide a common standardized approach that makes it easy to use for our customers. We want a common stack, especially for replication, that can handle site to site, or hub and spoke with regional branch offices and data centers. We want compatibility in replication."
Roscoe acknowledged that Dell currently has "multiple solutions" when it comes to data de-duplication. The company is planning to standardize on technology from Quantum for de-duplication and replication. Quantum's software is used in its own DXi7500 enterprise disk backup system and in EMC's DL3D and DL4000 products, which were introduced in May. And Dell currently sells Quantum products.
Dell is going after a market that is booming. Research firm The 451 Group says the data de-duplication market was nearly zero a few years ago and projects that it will pass $1 billion in revenue next year. Roscoe said Dell agrees with those projections.
