[Editor's Note: I'm posting this without edits.]

As you know, by all indications, Active Storage has ceased its operations. Unfortunately, with formal announcement yet to be made by Active, both end users and resellers have been left to their own devices for service and support. My purpose in writing is to inform you that Vicom Systems, a former solution partner of Active Storage, is now offering onsite services, compatible repair parts, backend support, and storage expansion options for Active installations.

Please note that while we are providing these services independent of affiliation with Active Storage, we are doing so with the formal endorsement of Accusys Inc., OEM RAID supplier to both Active Storage and Vicom Systems. (At Vicom, we offer a RAID system called Vxr, which uses the same RAID system hardware as Active Storage.)

Active Storage Product, Market, and Customer Knowledge
If you are looking for a service and support replacement for Active Storage, Vicom warrants your strong consideration for the following reasons:
· Shared Customers. As a solution partner of Active Storage, we share a number of common customers in high-availability applications. By design, our appliances work in close concert with ActiveRAID and mRAID to protect and ensure continuous access to streaming content. With four years of installing and supporting Active/Vicom solutions under our belts, we have developed a strong technical understanding of ActiveRAID and mRAID systems and how they behave in Apple video environments.

· Shared OEM Supplier. Both Vicom and Active Storage have shared the same OEM supplier, Accusys Corporation of Taiwan. As a result, short of microcode enhancement and FRU-level replacement, we can provide identical replacement parts for your customers. We can also provide onsite troubleshooting and backend, Level 3 and Level 4 support equivalent to or better than you received from Active Storage; we maintain close and active engineering and business ties with Accusys Corporation, enabling us to resolve, if needed, even the most difficult technical problems.

· Video Storage System Knowledge. Our experience in the Apple market extends well beyond the Active Storage customer base. We also have our own set of major Apple video system customers including Turner Broadcasting, Korea Broadcasting System, NHK, and CCTV (China Central Television). Supporting these customers has given us not only strong knowledge of business-critical storage and Xsan, but also the system requirements needed to keep video operations running 24x7. At Korea Broadcasting, for example, Vicom systems are used to provide continuous access to over one PETABYTE of post-production and broadcast video, the heart of the company’s television and Internet operations.

Vicom: the Recommended Choice of Accusys Corporation
To protect its reputation and brand, Accusys has approached Vicom and solicited our interest in providing an after-market service alternative to Active Storage while it resolves its status as a going concern. Until such time as this status is settled, Accusys is limited in the formal actions it can undertake.

However, among emerging third-party alternatives, Accusys has voiced its clear recommendation for Vicom. In this regard, Susyan Huang, CEO of Accusys, has said, “Vicom is a proven provider of Apple video storage solutions as well as a long-time Accusys partner, and we believe Vicom is uniquely qualified to provide after-market support services for Active Storage customers. In the absence of services from Active Storage, Vicom is our recommended choice for service and support of Active’s RAID sites.”

For the detailed list of services and pricing, contact:
Dietmar Kurpanek at dietmar.kurpanek@vicom.com