ORLANDO, Fla., HIMSS, Feb. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- For some it's a battle of visions. For others it's a battle over definitions. For StorageTek(R), it continues to drive interest in StorageTek solutions to address the daunting challenge to efficiently access and maintain complex information while enabling compliance to mandates, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

StorageTek(R) (Storage Technology Corporation), , the data storage solutions expert, today announced at Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 2004 Annual Conference that demand for its information lifecycle management reference architectures and solutions continues to rise in light of HIPAA requirements, and customers' image and data archiving requirements. Along with best-in-class health care PACS partners, including Agfa Healthcare, Kodak Health Imaging, Siemens Medical Solutions, Philips Medical Systems and Rorke Data, StorageTek's reference architectures offer customers specific standard configurations of solutions that operate in each Picture Archive Communications System (PACS) provider's environment.

Health care customers worldwide have selected StorageTek to store, retrieve and manage their tiered information in a cost-effective and efficient manner. All of StorageTek's health care solutions are on view in Booth #733 at the annual HIMSS conference through Feb. 26, 2004.

"We're beyond buzzwords at this point in time," said Peter Gerr, analyst at Enterprise Storage Group (ESG). "Regardless of the label it's given -- tiered storage, hierarchical storage management, policy-based storage or information lifecycle management (ILM) -- the challenges facing IT and business professionals remain the same. Users need better tools and integrated solutions that enable them to protect their information assets while improving the utilization of their storage assets.

"Because most IT organizations are a patchwork of different technologies, ESG feels that vendors who address the broadest range of solutions, including tape, disk, networking, software and services, will be best positioned to succeed regardless of which industries they serve. The healthcare industry is long overdue for a technology refresh and appears to be one of the first industries to recognize the promise that information lifecycle management holds," said Gerr.

"Health care companies recognize data has a lifespan and that there's a balance between the immediacy of data access with cost-effective archiving capabilities," said Mark Ward, StorageTek vice president and general manager Information Lifecycle Management Solutions. "Factor in federal mandates such as HIPAA and the explosive growth of data year-over-year, and you have an escalating crisis for IT managers in health care. StorageTek is a uniquely focused enterprise class storage company which provides integrated storage solutions across software data management, disk, SAN, tape and services to

help health care providers take charge of their information so it does not take charge of them."