THE increasing need for data storage and the threat of losing these data are two of the most crucial considerations in business. For a flash storage solution company, Nimble Storage, it is the best time to introduce its technology from the United States to Cebu to address the storage needs of local establishments.
In a press conference yesterday, officials of Nimble Storage said that it will expand its presence in Cebu. This time, it is eyeing local companies in retail, logistics, banking, utilities and manufacturing.
Nimble Storage director for the Southeast Asia Rachel Lev said the expansion was prompted by Manila-based companies that are setting up secondary data centers in Cebu. However, the company also wants to tap local establishments that can take advantage of the Nimble Storage system.
At present, there is one company in Cebu that is adopting Nimble’s technology.
The company is looking to serve around 50 companies in Cebu in the “next couple of years,” said Nimble Storage vice president for Asia Pacific and Japan Peter O’Connor. This will be made possible through its future partnerships with less than 10 local resellers in Cebu.
“We are here not just to support Manila companies in putting up their data centers, but also to provide solutions to mid-range and small customers (companies in Cebu),” O’Connor said. Secondary or disaster-recovery data centers are placed in Cebu by some Manila-based companies to ensure business continuity.
Officials have expressed optimism that its expansion to Cebu and the local market’s adoption rate will be as fast as the market growth observed in Manila.
In Southeast Asia, the Philippines remains the second largest market for Nimble after Singapore in terms of revenue.
“The company considers the Philippines as an aggressive adopter of Nimble Technology because of growing business like IT product manufacturing, software development, and business process outsourcing. Our customers are very IT savvy and I think that’s one of the reasons why we have grown in the market so quickly,” O’Connor said.
Top business names that have adopted Nimble’s technology include Globe Telecom for its cloud management services for enterprise. Retail chain Rustan’s has also deployed Nimble’s SmartStack solution, which has allowed the retailer to generate reports in less time.
Unlike its competitors, company officials said Nimble Storage systems require less rack space, are easier to use and consume less power.
“Nimble Storage is redefining the storage market with its Adaptive Flash platform. Nimble’s flash storage solutions enable the consolidation of all workloads and eliminate storage silos by providing enterprises with significant improvements in application performance and storage capacity. At the same time, Nimble delivers superior data protection while simplifying business operations while lowering costs,” the company said.
Entry-level storage systems are priced at around P700,000.
In the Philippines, the largest storage capacity adopted by customers is 150 terabytes, but O’Connor said this can be expanded to 230 terabytes with the compression functions of Nimble’s technology.
In the future, the company is hoping to expand to other key cities in the Philippines, especially if the demand for their solutions continues to do well.
Globally, the company serves 5,000 enterprises, including government instritutions across 38 countries.