Small businesses are grappling with how to manage the dramatic growth of critical files, email and media. Meanwhile consumers are creating and purchasing vast amounts of digital content, including music, movies, photos, e-books and videos. To help them have greater control over of their data, Intel Corporation today announced its next-generation Intel Atom processor-based storage solution.

Recognizing the ongoing, real-time growth of storage demands, this solution, powered by the Intel Atom processor D2550 or the Intel Atom processor D2500, combines impressive multimedia capabilities, energy efficiency and excellent performance to deliver the personal cloud to businesses and consumers.

"Intel's next-generation Atom processor provides an ideal solution for powering intelligent storage system designs that will act as a personal cloud inside the office or home, and will deliver better ways to store and access data," said David Tuhy, general manager, Intel Storage Division. "With a range of systems designers on board, the Intel Atom processor-based storage solution raises the bar in how data is stored, managed and shared."

Meeting the Business Challenge: A Personal Cloud

Businesses such as retailers, financial services firms, medical and legal offices require on-site solutions to store and access data locally, as well as the ability to access that data remotely. With this solution, businesses can provide their employees with a personal cloud storage experience so they can have fast, secure access to files from work, home or on the road from any connected device. This solution also supports multiple file transfer protocols so companies can share data and content regardless of the operating system.

Broad Security Capabilities

With security of paramount concern to businesses, this solution is supported by the McAfee AV SDK and VirusScan which will give small businesses a valuable tool for protection against data corruption and virus attacks. Centralized backup of all devices also assures businesses that their data is protected. Businesses with video surveillance systems can attach up to two monitors to a single platform-based storage device and view up to four camera feeds that feature HD-quality clarity.

Content Vault for Consumers

Devices featuring this storage solution also act as centralized media platforms for storing movies, music, video, games, photos and other content.

"QNAP's new HD Station, utilizing Intel Atom processor D2550 graphics capabilities, plays local and network media such as high-definition movies, home videos, pictures, and music -- all with the comfort of a big size screen via HDMI connection and a remote control, smartphone or any wireless USB keyboard or mouse," said Jason Hsu, product manager of QNAP Systems Inc. "Turbo NAS showcases the potential of the graphics capability of the Intel Atom processor and how it can be applied for home entertainment."

Families and friends can also experience the peak performance and graphics capabilities of this solution when they gain access and share files using a variety of connected devices including Ultrabooks, notebooks, smartphones and tablets, creating a personal cloud.

"With the launch of the Intel Atom processor D2550 using award-winning solutions from Thecus, multimedia opportunities are endless," said Florence Shih, general manager of Thecus. "The Intel Atom processor D2550's value is its unique combination of performance and graphics capabilities. By pairing with local display and HDMI output, Thecus adopts this technology to empower an entertainment powerhouse for an unparalleled theater experience."

Asustor, QNAP, and Thecus are launching storage solutions on this platform today, with other companies launching in the near future. The software ecosystem gets a boost with support from companies such as Mpstor and Dane-Elec that have developed an optimized storage stack for small-business customers.