With the recent release of System Center Data Protection Manager 2006 and the upcoming release of Windows Storage Server R2, Microsoft moves closer to becoming a systems vendor that can provide an integrated IT stack from storage to servers to applications. For firms that have standardized on Windows technologies — particularly if they are considering IP based storage solutions — the low cost, improved storage management capabilities, and common Windows interface of storage offerings based on Windows Storage Server make them an attractive option. Storage hardware and software vendors must continue to partner with Microsoft to win and keep Windows-centric customers but also must stay ahead of Microsoft by expanding support for heterogeneous environments, improving manageability, and scaling up.
