EMC Extends Interoperability Agreement With IBM Through 2017

EMC Corporation has extended its longstanding technology licensing agreement with IBM Corp. for EMC storage interoperability with IBM zEnterprise environments by one year through 2017.

Under the agreement, the two firms will continue collaborating to provide zEnterprise customers storage interoperability interfaces and technical support, providing IBM z customers the choice and support needed to deploy a combination of EMC VMAX storage systems and software with IBM z technologies.

As part of the agreement, IBM will provide EMC with technical specifications that will continue to enable compatibility between VMAX storage systems and the zEnterprise System running current and future versions of the IBM z operating systems.

The agreement has served as the foundation
upon they have worked collaboratively for eight years
in support of System z customers:

• 2003, they first announced a licensing agreement that provided EMC with access to a range of mainframe storage interfaces and functionality for other IBM systems lines.
• 2005, the two companies extended a cooperative support agreement which remains in place today. It facilitates mutual response to joint customer issues across various IBM Systems lines.
• 2009, EMC introduced the Virtual Matrix Architecture and VMAX, enterprise storage for virtualized data centers—and ensured support for mainframe interoperability.
• 2010 EMC provided day-one support for zEnterprise 196 with support for Multi-Track High Performance FICON, and enhanced support for IBM z/OS Global Mirror and z/OS Metro/Global Mirror.
• 2011, the agreement was extended and EMC introduced AutoSwap for z/VM business continuity solution.
• 2012, EMC offers day-one support of zEnterprise EC12, extending its agreement for ongoing interoperability zEnterprise customers to leverage  EMC Virtual Provisioning and Fully Automated Storage Tiering (FAST) technologies to exploit the benefits of flash drives.

Mark Anzani, IBM VP, Portfolio and Technical Strategy, System z, said:" This extension of the existing agreement resulted from IBM’s ongoing innovation for System z. For years, IBM has been delivering on open standards and giving customers’ choice. This extension agreement underscores IBM’s commitment to industry interoperability. By enabling choices in storage infrastructure from vendors such as IBM and EMC, clients can confidently grow applications and data onto the zEnterprise."

Peter C. Conway, VP Enterprise Storage Division, EMC, said:" We are pleased to announce the extension of our Licensing Agreement with IBM. The extension of our relationship with IBM will assure our mutual EMC VMAX and IBM zEnterprise customers the benefits of our combined offering. Through efforts such as this, EMC is demonstrating its ongoing commitment to IBM zEnterprise and its customers."