Hewlett Packard (HP) is making it easier for small and midsized businesses (SMBs) to get the benefits of data tiering with their data storage capabilities and keep costs down with several new updates to the HP MSA Storage platform. The company said the new solutions will enable small businesses leverage the same technologies previously only affordable to large enterprise customers.

SMB customers now have access to both advanced storage virtualization and data tiering options to help organize resources by how frequently they are utilized. Performance tiering will allow users to speed up heavily utilized resources by placing them on SSDs, while archive tiering will create low-cost repositories for data that is not frequently accessed.

“SMB customers are facing many of the same challenges as larger enterprises, meaning they are looking for advanced storage features to help them boost efficiency and simplify their operations,” said David Scott, senior vice president and general manager of Storage at HP, in a statement. “The latest enhancements to HP MSA Storage enable customers with tight budgets to benefit from the simplicity, cost savings, and increased application performance that advanced storage features make possible.”

HP said it expects its new MSA Storage capabilities to help small and midsized businesses improve their data center infrastructures and improve overall performance by enabling the following:

Additionally, SMB partners can access several new additions to the HP Simply StoreIT channel partner program, including quote and configuration templates, co-branded lead-generation assets, training materials and a new quick start guide for partners.

The new MSA 1040/2040 firmware is expected to be generally available in December. Current MSA 2040 customers will receive all new features except for performance tiering through a free firmware upgrade.