DLT expands schedule offerings

Alliances offer QLogic storage-area network products and Hiawatha search solutions

DLT Solutions Inc. has forged two alliances to strengthen its offerings to government customers through the General Services Administration schedule, the company announced Tuesday.

In one alliance, QLogic Corp., a provider of storage-area network products, will offer its Fibre Channel storage-area network (SAN) solutions via DLT's schedule contracts. QLogic's Fibre Channel host bus adapters, SANbox switches and high port-count director products are the first tools that were added to the contract.

QLogic's recently expanded partnership with Inrange Technologies Corp., a developer of scalable storage products, will enable DLT to deliver end-to-end storage networking solutions and provide enhanced service and support levels to government customers, said Craig Abod, president of DLT Solutions.

The QLogic alliance enables DLT to offer its government customers a complete SAN solution with QLogic's fiber switches being the last piece to the puzzle, Abod said. "We sell tape libraries, RAID solutions from a couple of manufacturers and Legato [Systems Inc.] software, which manages the SAN and the backup storage," he said. "QLogic makes the fiber switches that tie everything together."

DLT's other agreement is with Hiawatha Island Software Company Inc. Together, the companies launched the HiSoftware GSA Store, an e-commerce Web site providing GSA customers with secure, simplified procurement of HiSoftware's advanced search and accessibility solutions.

The Agriculture Department, the U.S. Geological Survey, National Biological Information Infrastructure, the Navy and 30 states use HiSoftware's metadata solutions for finding and retrieving information, said Robert Yonaitis, president and chief executive officer of the Concord, N.H.-based company.

"Through the online store, we hope to greatly expand access to our solutions and at the same time help these agencies streamline their procurement process, cut costs and comply with the e-gov initiative," he said in a release. Digital River Inc., an e-commerce firm, hosts the online store.

Abod said there was no connection between the QLogic and HiSoftware deals, because separate teams at DLT work with those companies. Also, the HiSoftware alliance is more of "tangent" for the company and was pushed forward to make HiSoftware products that can help agencies comply with Section 508 accessibility regulations readily available.

DLT's three main product offerings are from Oracle Corp., Autodesk Inc. and its storage business, and the company is "continuing to expand our offerings in these strategic areas," Abod said.