Unisys offers firms storage space to rent

Unisys starts offering pay-per-use scheme for enterprises using its storage options

Unisys has announced a new pay-per-use scheme for enterprises using its storage services. Under its Real-Time Storage metering plan, Unisys will provide EMC- or Hitachi-based storage area network (SAN) kit to firms that contract to buy at least 10TB increasing by 25 percent per annum over a period of around three to four years.

Gert Mulder, Unisys storage sales manager, said the deal would appeal to firms that predict a growing requirement for storage over the contract period.

Mulder said, “We look at what a customer currently has in terms of storage capacity, and we look at expected growth. Then on a per-month basis we calculate the expected usage. At the end of the contract period we add those gigabyte months together and end up with a total [anticipated storage capacity requirement].”

Mulder said that on day one of the contract Unisys would install the total capacity needed over the contract period, which meant customers would avoid lengthy and expensive data migration projects that might otherwise be needed as storage capacity was increased incrementally over a four-year period.

“Customers complain that the cycle of getting new storage implemented can take over six months. We put a lot more storage on the floor than initially needed, which takes that issue away. Performance would also be better because from day one the data can be spread across more spindles,” Mulder added.

Mulder said the system would particularly appeal to Unisys’ mainframe customers who are already comfortable with the concept of pay-per-use pricing for computer capacity.