Branded network product provider Netgear is showcasing its range of ReadyNAS solutions this GITEX. The company is aiming to grab its share of the Middle East's Network Attached Storage (NAS) market, which storage experts have predicted will grow by 40% in 2008.

It claims its recent US $60 million acquisition of the ReadyNAS product family and product pipeline from the privately held Infrant Technologies Inc will help it achieve this goal as it looks to offer "a full line-up of feature-rich, scalable and cost-effective storage solutions to emerging markets."

"Our acquisition of Infrant Technologies allows us to better address the growing demand for NAS solutions in the Middle East, especially in the GCC region," says Ahmad Zeidan, channel sales manager of Netgear Middle East.

"With technologically advanced features and a competitive price range, we are poised to fast track our growth programme, improve our share of the market and increase margins."

Netgear's participation at GITEX Technology Week will further consolidate its hold on the market, he claims. The ReadyNAS family implements a redundant array of independent disk (RAID) data protection, enabling users to store and protect critical data easily, efficiently and intelligently.

The ReadyNAS line-up is also powered by Infrant's proprietary network storage processor, the Linux-based RAIDiator operating system, and patent pending Expandable Protection (X-RAID) technology, which allows automatic RAID volume expansion as additional drives are added. With X-RAID, users can easily add disks as they need or can afford without fear of losing data and without having to reformat volumes.