The emergence of virtualization, big data, cloud computing and mobility have renewed interest in Data storage technologies and storage management. Data storage consists of computer components and recording media and is a key ingredient in storing and organizing of data at enterprises. Efficient and effective storage management is vital for smooth operations and business continuity.

Some of the leading Storage technology vendors are Dell, IBM, HPE, Hitachi, IBM, EMC and NetApp. HPE and Hitachi lead the pack with these companies making several breakthroughs in storage technology.

Hitachi is a Japanese conglomerate with interests in multiple domains which have been divided into eleven business segments. Hitachi Data Systems (HDS), a wholly owned subsidiary provides hardware, software and services to help enterprises manage their digital data.

Their core disk storage offerings include:

• Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform (VSP), a high-end disk storage platform
• Hitachi Unified Storage (HUS) platforms for the midrange markets
• Hitachi NAS (HNAS), an emerging offering for the NAS market
• HUS VM entry-level enterprise system

Among these, the high-end VSP platform is a market favorite noted for its performance scalability, capacity scalability, utilization efficiency software, data protection, replication software, and virtualization functions.

HPE's diverse portfolio of storage systems includes the P4000 (or LeftHand Networks); P6000 Enterprise Virtual Array (EVA) series, 3PAR StoreServ series and the XP P9000 series. 3PAR is a hugely successful range of products which has added several entry-level models in the recent past. 3PAR provides users with a common architecture growth path that spans entry-level two-node to high-end eight-node configurations.