Network Appliance, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP), today announced that Independence Air has deployed NetApp unified storage systems and IP SAN solutions for its storage platform in support of the airline’s launch as its own entity and 45-city U.S. expansion. Combining increased scalability, management simplicity, and advanced data protection features, the NetApp storage solution facilitates Independence Air’s innovations in flight availability and airline efficiency helping the company be more competitive and provide trouble-free travel for customers.

The integrated NetApp IP SAN and NAS solution replaced a legacy frame array and direct-attached storage (DAS). NetApp provides Independence Air with simplified data management from a single platform, which supports a wide range of demanding applications from Lawson Financials and Maximo aircraft maintenance environments, based on Oracle®, to Microsoft® SQL Server databases and a 4,000 mailbox Microsoft Exchange 2003 system. The airline uses NetApp SnapManager® software for Exchange and Single Mailbox Recovery functionality to streamline email management, enhance backup validity, and accelerate recoverability. In addition, NetApp is Designed for Windows® Logo qualified for iSCSI hardware targets, which helps enable compatibility and allows storage to be easily managed by Microsoft Windows Server administrative staff.

“Expansion to new markets required us to focus on ways our IT infrastructure could maintain low operating costs, yet be flexible enough to accommodate an extremely large rollout of new service,” said Chris Hughes, director of Information Technology at Independence Air. “NetApp helps us to react quickly to the added data needs of new flight destinations by growing our storage capacity in just a few steps, with no strain on our already lean IT staff resources. Normally each new operating system or new platform increases overall operating costs and complexity, but with NetApp we can support almost any mix of applications and types of data under a single roof. Simplicity lends itself to uptime and efficiency.”

Since deploying the NetApp solution, Independence Air has realized increased business flexibility and management savings. Even with tripling storage requirements, the company has reduced storage management time and staffing requirements by more than 50% to 75%, respectively. Performance improvements in critical night batch processing have also enhanced competitiveness. “The amount of time it took to complete one particular operation fell from two hours to 45 minutes,” said Hughes. “This improvement directly impacts the ability to complete routine maintenance on schedule and to keep our planes flying on time.”

“Like many companies, Independence Air is utilizing NetApp unified storage systems to reap the benefits of consolidating direct-attached storage, while leveraging the cost and simplicity of IP networking,” said Patrick Rogers, vice president of Products and Partners at Network Appliance. “By consolidating their storage infrastructures with NetApp unified storage, companies can increase data availability, minimize costs, and take advantage of a simplified, flexible storage infrastructure.”