Premier Online Shopping Brand Shopzilla Inc. Deploys Panzura

SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Panzura (www.panzura.com), the leading provider of innovative cloud storage solutions, today announced that Shopzilla, Inc. has deployed Panzura Alto Cloud Controllers to more efficiently manage the regular data backup functions of multiple datacenters.  Shopzilla chose the Panzura solution because of its unique capability to scale out multiple controllers in distributed geographic locations to form a single unified file system.

Shopzilla, Inc., which manages a premier portfolio of online shopping brands including Bizrate, Beso, Shopzilla, TaDa, PrixMoinsCher, and SparDeinGeld, has been searching for a solution that would allow it to consolidate the backup and DR functions from multiple locations into a single, enterprise-wide backup.  Running disk-to-disk-to-tape backup in each geographically distributed datacenter can be very labor intensive, and the limited datacenter staff has more pressing priorities.  In addition, multiple disparate backups require a significantly larger storage infrastructure, as a great deal of data is duplicated across each location.

"As a premier online shopping destination, our priority is to ensure complete customer satisfaction across all of our brands.  Yet our existing disk and tape backup systems in our different locations were creating increasing demands on IT staff cycles, and were not allowing us the efficiency or flexibility we needed," said Burzin Engineer, VP of Technology at Shopzilla, Inc.  "The Panzura solution allowed us to gain significant efficiencies by consolidating these individual backup processes into a single, centrally managed disk-to-tape backup in our main Los Angeles datacenter.  Additionally, we can utilize the global deduplication functionality of the Panzura Cloud File System to further reduce the amount of storage hardware, and cost, of our backup and DR initiatives."

Panzura Alto Cloud Controllers are deployed in each of three datacenters in North America, acting as the primary mount point for the backup function of each location.  Data is written locally to the Panzura devices on a regular backup schedule, and each location in turn writes this data to the Panzura Alto Cloud Controllers in the main Los Angeles datacenter.  The Panzura cloud controllers perform global deduplication of the data, further reducing the total storage requirements.  At a pre-determined interval, a single tape backup is produced from the consolidated, deduplicated data on the Los Angeles Panzura unit.  Moreover, each Panzura box maintains a local cache of the data, allowing for rapid recovery of mission-critical data in the event of a primary storage failure.

In addition to increasing the efficiency of IT operations at each location, the Panzura solution has allowed the elimination of legacy storage hardware from the backup process.  This results in a measurable reduction in both capital and operational expense for Shopzilla, and allows the re-deployment of storage hardware for future primary storage needs.

"We look forward to working with Panzura to further improve the efficiency of our storage infrastructure," Mr. Engineer added.  "We're very excited to see the early results that they've allowed us, and are beginning to explore new opportunities to utilize the product."

Email [email protected] or visit http://www.panzura.com for more information.

About Panzura

Panzura is the leading provider of innovative cloud storage solutions.  Founded in 2008 and backed by leading venture firms, Panzura delivers products that take an application-centric rather than network-centric approach to storage, termed Application Network Storage (ANS).  By combining application logic with storage technology, Panzura is able to provide solutions that are faster, cheaper and more secure than traditional approaches to Tier 1 Storage.  This revolutionary architecture allows enterprises to save costs, significantly increase performance and secure mission-critical data via public or private cloud environments.

About Shopzilla, Inc.

Shopzilla, Inc. manages a premier portfolio of online shopping brands in the US and Europe, consisting of Bizrate, Beso, Shopzilla, TaDa, PrixMoinsCher, and SparDeinGeld.  Shopzilla connects shoppers with over 100 million products from tens of thousands of retailers with its unique set of engaging and informative websites.  Reaching a global audience of over 40 million shoppers each month through both its destination websites and affiliate network, Shopzilla is a leading source of sales and consumer feedback for online merchants and retail advertisers.  With offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, and London, the company operates sites and business services in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany.  Shopzilla, Inc. is owned by Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI).

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SOURCE Panzura