With iSCSI and Fibre Channel connectivity, and a new InServ E200 storage server, 3PAR is taking closer aim at the requirements of the hot, mid-sized enterprise storage market. However, 3PAR's overall gaze is still fixed on large enterprises, and purchasers must also consider the risk of going with a small innovator.

Lower Costs for Mid-Sized Enterprises

Under the banner of utility computing infrastructure, 3PAR has been delivering innovative storage solutions with its X-series InServ Storage Servers S400 and S800. However, these are large enterprise solutions with application for only the largest mid-sized enterprises. The InServ E200 has the same InSpire Architecture of the larger offerings, but is priced in the $65,000 range.

The E200 puts 3PAR storage right into the mid-sized enterprise sweet spot. Mid-sized enterprises are the fastest growing segment of the overall external enterprise storage market. Info-Tech has identified that the hot zone for mid-sized enterprise SAN storage purchases is between $30,000 and $160,000. Major vendors tackling this market include EMC (Clariion), HP (EVA), and IBM (DS4000 series).

The E200 is different from the other InServ models only in its more limited scale. The following table illustrates how technical...