Microsoft today announced that research by IDC shows the user base for Windows powered NAS appliance servers has increased to nearly 32 percent in just over a year and a half since launch.
Microsoft said that the increase is attributed to customers being challenged to manage increasing amounts of data with decreased IT spending. For that reason, the company says, its increasingly important that innovative, comprehensive and cost-effective solutions are available to IT administrators and their businesses.
Microsoft says that it continues to display its commitment to the industry by devoting resources to NAS and growing the user base. Microsoft says it is continuing to work with leading OEMs such as Dell, HP, IBM, Iomega, and NEC, to provide the best tools, services and support for storage solutions to fit a variety of needs, from small organizations to enterprise environments.
Windows Powered NAS is an optimized file server based on multipurpose Microsoft Windows technology designed for high reliability, availability and ease of management.
According to Microsoft, server consolidation is one of the key areas where customers are using Windows Powered NAS to reduce their total cost of ownership. By consolidating servers on onto NAS, customers are experiencing lower cost of ownership with higher availability and scalability while enjoying the benefits of advanced features such as Persistent Storage Manager, Storage Manager and full integration with the Active Directory.