IBM Says Company Is Positioned in Leaders Quadrant for Storage Services

July 21, 2006; 03:40 AM
 IBM announced that the analyst firm Gartner, Inc. has positioned IBM in the "Leaders" quadrant in its Magic Quadrant evaluation of Storage Services vendors.

The ability to execute and completeness of vision were examined while positioning each storage services company. According to Gartner, Inc., "Leaders are performing well today, have a clear vision of market direction and are actively building competencies to sustain their leadership position in the market."

"IBM has been aggressively delivering storage services to clients globally to help them innovate, and we believe Gartner's recognition is testament to the rewards of collaborative innovation," said Paul Fried, vice-president for Storage and Data Services, IBM Global Technology Services. "By helping clients more efficiently store, manage and understand, and leverage data, we can help free them to innovate across their business. We will be relentless in pursuing that vision in the days ahead."

IBM is the largest storage services provider worldwide and has over 100 System Storage Solution Centers. IBM Global Technology Services uses methodologies and prior engagement experiences to offer solutions that help maximize operational effectiveness and gain competitive advantage while minimizing costs for clients.

In March 2006, IBM Global Technology Services (GTS) began realigning its services to reflect service product lines. The following services contribute to IBM's leadership:

--  Business continuity and recovery services: IBM consultants work with
companies to determine the risks, vulnerabilities and financial impact a
disruption can have on their business, and plan to effectively manage
emergency situations. IBM also advises companies on data archiving and
compliance issues.

--  Infrastructure and system management services: Infrastructure and
Systems Management is an enterprise wide, consultative approach to help
businesses manage host-centric, distributed, desktop and network
environments. The services encompass the entire lifecycle, from assessment,
strategy and design, to implementation and operational services. IBM's
portfolio includes information lifecycle management (ILM) which is a
process for managing information through its lifecycle, from conception
until disposal, in a manner that optimizes storage and access at the lowest
cost.

--  Networking services: IBM Networking Services offers integrated,
industry-focused solutions to business and IT problems; solutions
addressing business transformation, cost efficiency, risk mitigation and
resilience concerns; and outsourcing -- including on demand delivery.

--  Technical-support services and IT education services: IBM offers a
comprehensive portfolio of technical training and education services
designed for individuals, companies, and public organizations to acquire,
maintain, and optimize their IT skills. Also, IBM Technical Support
Services provide comprehensive hardware and software support, such as
hardware and software implementation and installation; operational support;
data center planning and support.

--  Managed Services:  IBM offers a broad portfolio of storage management
services, designed to quickly enable new business applications, to manage
and accommodate storage growth for existing applications and data, and to
support client Information Lifecycle Management needs. Included in this
portfolio is IBM's on demand storage service solution -- Managed Storage
Services.  Clients receive on demand storage capacity, monitoring,
management, backup and restore, archiving and reporting services in a
security-rich, dedicated or shared storage environment.

About IBM
For more information about IBM see www.ibm.com