Data Dynamics has enhanced several platform elements, and two new ones have been added, a Data Protection Module and an SDK.

Teaneck N.J.-based file migration vendor Data Dynamics has broken some new ground with the 7.8 version release of its StorageX unified platform. In addition to improving the core migration features, the new version adds a data protection module and an Enterprise Integration Software Developer Kit (SDK), both of which add new opportunities for the company’s channel partners.

“We are a file mobility platform, an enablement technology who are typically used in tech refreshes to move data,” said Cuong Le, Vice President of Marketing at Data Dynamics. ‘While copying data is easy, moving it is hard. We reduce time in data migrations, and have additional use cases that provide additional high-value services opportunities for our partners, like governance and risk management, which partners add on top of our software.”

The StorageX Data Protection Module is entirely new, and is designed to deliver heterogeneous replication across SMB and NFS file storage resources. It is sold as a separate add-on to the main platform.

“Partners and customers told us they love how we migrate data, but that some vendor interfaces made data protection problematic,” Le said. “For example, in NetApp 7-Mode, you had to update the entire environment to do data protection in movement. Many partners and customers wanted to be more multi-vendor, and this module can be used for heterogeneous data protection, so it enables them to do that.”

The StorageX SDK is also new. It lets partners or customers use the StorageX policy engine to intelligently optimize and manage data mobility, by using APIs to directly integrate with enterprise applications, customizing their sources, targets and policies for moving the data.

“The value is in making data visible, and we enable that through our SDK kit, which makes a services-rich environment possible,” Le said. “SIs can write to these APIs, to provide a higher value service. It also allows the line of business to manage data mobility themselves.”

StorageX SDK use cases include service level monitoring applications that trigger automated data management actions like data workload rebalancing, IT asset management applications to proactively move data off older legacy systems, and integrating data mobility capabilities into self-service portals so line of business can manage the lifecycle and placement of their data assets.

“We are seeing an increasing divide between line of business, that owns the data, and storage infrastructure,” Le said. “This is another of the new capabilities in this release to better allow line of business to manage the data lifecycle. This is a further services-rich environment for the channel.”

The StorageX DFS Protection Suite, another addition to the main platform that is sold separately, has been enhanced, with a new namespace module that delivers automated backups and availability policies for Microsoft DFS Namespaces, allowing users to failover and failback namespaces for complete DR preparedness.

“Managing a Microsoft DFS environment is a lot of work, and we make it a lot easier with this,” Le said.

The migration module has also been enhanced.

“We are adding EMC Isilon as source for moving data, which will make it easier to migrate data from Isilon,” Le said. “This adds another capability, since before we only had Isilon as a target to move data.”

Le emphasized that the new version of the platform significantly upgrades partner opportunities.

“The new platform reduces risks for customers, and also gives partners more ways of attaching additional services capabilities, while simultaneously reducing their risk in delivering these capabilities,” he said.

The Data Dynamics StorageX 7.8 platform is available now, with pricing starting at $USD 5,000. Pricing for the StorageX Data Protection Module begins at $USD 1,000. Pricing for the StorageX DFS Protection Suite starts at $USD 50,000.