Pat Townsend to Supply Encryption Technology to Quantum

August 25, 2009 Alex Woodie

Patrick Townsend Security Solutions (PTSS) yesterday announced it has inked an OEM deal with Quantum to supply the enterprise storage provider with encryption key management solutions. It is possibly PTSS’ largest reseller deal ever, and launches a new direction for developer of i OS and open systems security software.

The deal with Quantum involves PTSS’ Alliance Key Manager, a new encryption key management appliance that PTSS announced in December and finally delivered this quarter. The offering manages encryption keys for all major platforms, including i OS, and is deployed on a hardened, Linux-based System x server.

As part of the deal, PTSS is supplying Alliance Key Manager for Quantum’s Scalar tape libraries and its iLayer management software. Quantum, which had revenues of more than $800 million last year, is currently selling the FIPS 140-2 certified Alliance Key Manager as the Scalar Key Manager.

Quantum initially planned to build its own encryption key management solution, but stopped when it found out about PTSS’ offering, according to Jim Jonez, senior director of product management for Quantum. “When we set out to design our next-gen security solutions, we wanted to deliver powerful key management while minimizing cost and complexity,” Jonez says in a press release. “After evaluating several technology approaches, we selected PTSS to help us deliver a solution that integrated seamlessly with our Scalar tape libraries and iLayer management software.”

Currently Quantum is supporting two libraries with its Scalar Key Manager, including the Scalar i2000 equipped with Hewlett-Packard LTO-4 Fiber Channel drives and the Scalar i500 with HP LTO-4 Fiber Channel or SAS drives. The offering is available as a single appliance or as a high availability solution with two appliances kept in synch.

Patrick Townsend, now the CTO of PTSS since John Earl took over the president’s job, says the deal with Quantum opens up a new era of business possibilities. “By working with Quantum we were able to make an encryption key management solution available to a large and wholly different market than those we’ve reached before,” Townsend says in a press release.

Quantum’s storage gear is not often used in System i environments. However, earlier this year, Gresham Enterprise Storage certified the use of Quantum’s Scalar tape libraries with its VTL appliance, the Clareti Storage Director. As part of that deal, Gresham ensured that its System i customers will be able to use Quantum’s data de-duplication technology, which exists in its DXi-Series disk array.