Key Information Systems

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October 13, 2002

Key Information Systems Adds Two New e-Lab Sites To Help Users Evaluate HA and SAN Requirements

High availability solution site allows users to predict HA's effect on backups
SAN solution site evaluates if IBM's Enterprise Storage Server is right for your network
DENVER, COLO. -- October 13, 2002
IBM COMMON Fall 2002 Conference and Expo
Booth #519
Colorado Convention Center
October 13-17, 2002

Key Information Systems of Woodland Hills, Calif., a systems integration company and Premier IBM® Business Partner that specializes in storage and high-availability solutions, announced today the release of two new online e-Lab solution sites. Users can employ free tools at the sites to:

Find out how to quickly and affordably eliminate downtime during backups.
Calculate the return on investment of a solution that accomplishes this.
Discover whether the new IBM Enterprise Storage Server Model 800 will benefit a storage environment.
Learn how to improve backup and archiving strategies.

Key pioneered the e-Lab concept with its trend-setting backup e-Lab where users can obtain detailed analyses of their present and future tape backup requirements. More than a thousand visitors have logged onto the site since it was launched last spring, and more than 200 have generated for themselves detailed information reports about their companies' tape backup configuration requirements.

Key's two new e-Lab solution sites include one on high availability - the "Zero Downtime site" - and one on storage area networking using IBM's hot new Enterprise Storage Server (ESS) Model 800. Key's Zero Downtime high availability e-Lab evaluates the cost versus benefit of employing an HA system to eliminate downtime during backups. The SAN e-Lab takes a look at whether the ESS is right for a given storage environment. The two new e-Labs extend Key's suite of user-useful analytical tools that visitors can access simply by going to Key's Web site at www.keyisit.com.

"We're putting a tremendous effort into developing some very convenient tools for the IBM user community," said Pete Elliot, marketing director at Key Information Systems. "We know that users who are informed about the choices available in this rapidly evolving hardware market will realize the cost benefits of upgrading to today's current technology. It's becoming increasingly easy to justify an investment in upgrades when you look at the performance it buys you," Elliot said.

Key's new Zero Downtime high availability e-Lab solution site (www.keyisit.com/zerodowntime/index) is based on the belief that most companies who first get involved with high availability are interested in reducing their backup windows. While high-end HA systems are ideal for ensuring business continuity and disaster recovery, simpler, less expensive installations can be easily justified for the significant reductions in system downtime associated with performing routine backups. These basic high availability systems are devoid of the bells and whistles associated with expensive high-end systems but serve as the first step toward a more comprehensive strategy to eventually eliminate all planned and unplanned downtime.

"One of the biggest misconceptions about high availability," said Elliot "is the belief that it's extremely expensive and it takes a lot of high-powered hardware. The truth is, it's possible today to get started with a high availability solution using a minimum investment and a processor that is considerably smaller than your main production machine," Elliot said. Excluding mainframe, Key offers a high availability solution for all IBM platforms, including the recent addition of SteelEye Technology Inc.'s (www.steeleye.com) high availability LifeKeeper® solution for Linux.

On the Zero Downtime e-Lab site, users will find a series of white papers, comparative charts, trade press articles, customer success stories, and other pertinent information. In addition, they will discover a free customized analysis that allows any site visitor to calculate the return on investment of installing a solution to eliminate downtime during backup. A detailed report is generated that can help a user determine the size and cost of a suitable high-availability application.

In similar fashion, Key's storage area network e-Lab, centered on IBM's new Enterprise Storage Server Model 800, gives users insight into whether their system is a candidate to reap the benefits of IBM's newly redesigned disk appliance that now integrates with the iSeries. The ESS site provides articles, white papers, and other up-to-date research materials that can help planning before moving to a storage area network environment.

"The enterprise Storage Server has rocket science under the covers," said Lief Morin, president of Key Information Systems, "but it's not necessarily suitable for every company," he said. "The entry point for the Model 800 ESS is high, and its new functionality with the iSeries and other open systems platforms makes it particularly attractive to larger companies who want to centralize their storage and leverage disk space while simplifying complex system management tasks," Morin said.

About Key Information Systems, Inc.

Key Information Systems, Inc. is a Premier Business Partner with IBM and a systems integrator. Founded in 1995, Key delivers affordable and scalable solutions by integrating business strategies with infrastructure engineering. The company provides infrastructure architecture for storage solutions, business continuity, e-business and computing environment conversion.

Key has been designated a TotalStorage Solution Center by IBM, providing a full line of storage solutions across the total enterprise. This includes ESS (SHARK), SAN, NAS, FAStT, BladeCenter, iSCSI, LTO, Tivoli, TSRM and IBM storage virtualization/management products. Services include consulting in the best way to manage storage resources, business continuity planning and systems integration services to assist organizations migrating between platforms and operating system environments. For more information, visit the company online at www.keyisit.com or call 1-877-442-3249.

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