Cisco and NetApp launch ExpressPod for SMEs

• ExpressPod, a prepackaged solution for growing small and medium-sized organizations is no available
• FlexPod, aimed at servicing the needs of large enterprise datacenters now offers feature enhancements 

CISCO and NetApp have introduced ExpressPod, a prepackaged solution for growing small and medium-sized organizations along with new improvements made to the FlexPod datacenter platform.
 
“With increased focus by the government on SMEs and SMBs, through the 2013 budget announcement, we believe that it is more critical for our products and services to add value to customers in the current business landscape,” said Andy Khoo, country manager, Malaysia and Brunei, NetApp.
 
He added the introduction of ExpressPod and FlexPod positions both companies to meet the growing storage demands of medium enterprises that are looking to increase operational efficiency without significantly impacting revenues.
 
ExpressPod is targeted at growing small and medium-sized organizations that are beginning to virtualize their networking, storage, and computing environments.
 
It offers prepackaged and tested solution bundles, which are integrated and delivered by joint channel partners and supports an open ecosystem of management and hypervisor solutions.
 
ExpressPod integrates Cisco UCS C-Series servers, NetApp FAS2220 or FAS2240 storage, and Cisco Nexus 3048 switches with infrastructure management, into an affordable, easy-to-deploy infrastructure solution.
 
FlexPod, which is aimed at servicing the needs of large enterprise datacenters, today boasts a client portfolio of more than 1,300 organizations in 35 countries.
 
Ignition Creative, a full-service multimedia entertainment marketing company, is in the process of implementing FlexPod to consolidate operations onto a single platform.
 
“Our agency was managing and maintaining three separate datacenter infrastructures,” said Rich Oldfield, chief technology officer, Ignition Creative.
 
“We are working with Cisco and NetApp to converge our infrastructure onto the FlexPod data center platform and massively simplify operations. By deploying FlexPod, we’re confident we’ll be able to scale our infrastructure without limit and without disruption to our business, as our needs grow,” he added.
 
The latest iteration now features support and validation for VMware vSphere on NetApp Data ONTAP 8 operating in Cluster-Mode, which allows organizations to add nodes to their storage cluster, creating large storage pools that span storage devices and almost infinite scaling.
 
Additionally, for companies that are virtualizing Oracle RAC databases with VMware vSphere and vCenter, Cisco and NetApp offer validated design support, including documented deployment best practices. The Oracle RAC on FlexPod solution, validated with VMware, features secure multi-tenancy, application and data mobility, integrated data protection, and automated provisioning.
 
In Asia Pacific, NetApp has more than 60 certified FlexPod partners, out of which 16 are located in the South East Asia region.
 
In addition to a wide range of sales, and marketing resources designed to help partners grow their businesses and accelerate customer success, Cisco and NetApp offer a Plan, Design and Implement Help Desk that allows partners to collaborate with NetApp and Cisco on solving implementation challenges.
 
“With the introduction of ExpressPod and feature enhancements in FlexPod, NetApp and Cisco offer end-to-end infrastructure solutions for midsized businesses to large enterprises. These solutions simplify data center infrastructure deployments and accelerate the move from fragmented application silos to shared, virtualized, and cloud environments” said Brendon Howe, product solutions and marketing, NetApp.
 
To support partners who are looking to deploy ExpressPod, Cisco and NetApp will offer readiness and enablement packages to help them play a critical consulting role with midsized customers.
 
For more information about ExpressPod, click here or here.
 
For more information about FlexPod, click here or here.