Marathon Technologies Launches Services Group

And next month, Marathon expects to add a high-availability option, which would provide a secure computing environment that&'s less expensive than the Littleton, Mass., company's fault-tolerant product, FTServer, said Marathon President and CEO Gary Phillips.

FTServer synchronizes two Windows servers so they function as one fault-tolerant server. The product also includes disaster-protection features that enable the two servers to be separated by up to 100 miles. The upcoming high-availability option would provide availability akin to a traditional cluster and be priced in the United States at $10,000 for a dual-CPU configuration vs. $16,000 for a similar FTServer setup, Phillips said.

The plan for high availability is what prompted the launch of the services group, which initially will be staffed with five people, according to Phillips. "With the expanded product line, we thought it was important to offer our partners and customers help with analysis and design," he said.

The services group will provide application availability assessment, and design and integration services. Application availability assessment will give customers an in-depth evaluation of the impact of downtime on their business, as well as a current risk assessment. It also will help customers determine if they need the fault-tolerant or high-availability option. The design and integration services will assist partners with design, test and initial systems integration.

A "Migrate To Marathon" option also will be available to provide analysis, planning and design services to help companies seamlessly transition to a Marathon solution from a current implementation.

Phillips said Marathon intends the services group to work exclusively through current partners, and the company won&'t be looking to develop direct relationships with clients. He said the team of Marathon experts can provide the kind of analysis and design skills that many of the company's partners currently lack. "We are there to help and to augment," he added.

Marathon has 45 partners in the United States and 65 partners worldwide, Phillips said. The company aims to double its U.S. and European partner base, he said.