Ambry Genetics deploys EMC Isilon scale-out NAS for gene sequencing

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) today announced that Ambry Genetics®, a leading commercial provider of clinical diagnostic and genomic services, has deployed EMC® Isilon® scale-out NAS to power its advanced gene sequencing operations, enabling Ambry to advance a range of scientific pursuits while easily managing 100 percent data growth annually. Using Isilon's X-Series combined with the EMC Isilon SnapShotIQ™, SmartConnect™, and SmartQuotas™ software applications, Ambry Genetics has significantly reduced Big Data management challenges and storage administration costs, while accelerating data transfer rates and improving reliability for its genetic sequencing project pipeline.

Customer Benefits:

• Increased Performance – EMC Isilon scale-out NAS provided Ambry with the scalability and performance it needs to accelerate productivity.
• Reduced costs – Isilon handles Ambry Genetics' storage needs at a fraction of the cost of previous systems; Isilon's ease of management reduces operational expenses in storage management, eliminates hourly contract storage administrators.

Previously, Ambry Genetics had a traditional rack server with blades dedicated to storing its bioinformatics and sequencing data. "We were adding more and more blades and filling up the rack fast, and it was clear what we had wasn't offering the scalability or performance we needed," said Chris Medley, director of information technology at Ambry Genetics.  "We soon found we could leverage an Isilon system to handle our storage needs at a fraction of the cost, and that it will allow us to achieve some things, like data tiering, we couldn't have achieved before. With Isilon, we have a big storage solution for a much smaller price."

The Isilon scale-out NAS system is dedicated exclusively to the secure storage of bioinformatics and sequencing data used with and generated by Illumina sequencing platforms. By combining Illumina and Isilon technologies, Ambry Genetics can provide next-generation sequencing services to its customers without worrying about storage constraints. 

Along with the ease in scaling and management, Ambry Genetics chose Isilon for its storage needs because of the reliability of Isilon's unique clustered architecture and its ability to linearly scale performance in-line with user demand. From initial sequencing to management and analysis, the Isilon system has allowed Ambry Genetics to dramatically reduce turnaround time.

"Genetic sequences are a critical piece of our business and with new technology advancements, the amount of data it generates is doubling every year," said Ardy Arianpour, vice president of business development, Ambry Genetics. "With our launch of the Clinical Diagnostic Exome™ our data storage management is key and Isilon has enabled us to reduce costs, while simultaneously accelerating productivity, freeing our business to grow in step with customer demand."         

"Ambry Genetics is on the leading-edge of today's pursuit of personalized medicine," said Sam Grocott, vice president of marketing, EMC Isilon. "By using Isilon to accelerate their big data-intensive operations and slash management costs, they're setting best practices for all organizations looking to make the most of their business-critical information."