FalconStor NSS 7.0 brings VMware VAAI support to any storage array

FalconStor Software announced this week that Network Storage Server (NSS), their SAN virtualization solution, now supports VMware VAAI. This is big news for two reasons: Is the first time a smaller storage company has added VAAI support, and this is the first software virtualization product to do so. Users of this FalconStor solution will be able to use the three ESX 4.1 VAAI primitives with a wide variety of third-party storage devices.

You would probably also be interested in reading VMware VAAI Storage Array Support in Plain English

VMworld 2011 was a flurry of activity, but the FalconStor booth caught my eye. There, on the backdrop, were the four letters I’ve been tracking throughout the storage industry: VAAI. VMware’s array integration API brings powerful capabilities for the hypervisor to directly communicate with supported storage devices. Once enabled, VAAI “just works”, accelerating storage the motion and file locking and improving storage efficiency through thin provisioning.

But VAAI support is very difficult for storage vendors to bring to market. It requires capabilities that may not be present in some storage systems as well as the development of a plug-in for VMware vSphere. Then, vendors must go through certification with VMware before being added to the hardware compatibility list.

When it was initially announced as part of vSphere 4.1, VAAI support was limited to a few large companies. Since then, only IBM has added substantial support for the API, and no small vendor has been able to step up. This has somewhat dampened my enthusiasm for VAAI, since I would like to see widespread support across the industry.

Now that vSphere 5 has been announced, along with an extended version of VAAI, I hope more vendors will join the party. But until then, the FalconStor announcement brings hope to those who own unsupported systems. NSS is a block storage virtualization platform, and version 7.0 brings VAAI to any storage array. It is available as a software product or virtual appliance or as a physical appliance solution.

In this way, it is similar to the IBM SVC and HDS USP products. But FalconStor NSS is substantially less expensive than those offerings, more suitable for smaller businesses with “alternative” storage devices. FalconStor software is also widely offered by storage resellers, who will now be able to offer VAAI compliant solutions from vendors other than the big names.

Stephen’s Stance

I do not necessarily endorse or recommend FalconStor NSS over competing products from more familiar names, but I commend them for adding VAAI support. There the first small vendor to do so, and their software virtualization platform spreads the availability of this important software capability. For that, they should be commended!

No disclaimer: I’m not associated with FalconStor in any way.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2011. | FalconStor Brings VAAI Support To Every Storage Array
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Virtual Storage. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Servers, storage, and networks may be interconnected, but most large IT organizations keep the administrative teams from mixing. But the next-generation virtual data center might change that!

Lots of my IT infrastructure management clients are talking about how the advent of Ethernet/IP and virtualization is changing the roles of storage, server, and network administrators. The evolution of the storage role in particular in enterprise IT organizations has been a topic of particular interest to me for a while: I definitely remember thinking about this as iSCSI and Cisco came on the scene a few years back, but the question of integration of storage, server, network, and application management areas is as old as IT.

Back in 2005, I wrote a column in Storage magazine, asking Who Watches the SAN? Although there were (and still are) reasons one might consider handing SAN management over to the network team, such as the use of iSCSI, Cisco FC, or (soon) FCoE, I concluded that many network teams just aren’t ready to take on SAN management. Storage is different – extremely sensitive to latency and outages and burdened with interconnect concepts that are similar, but not identical, to their network cousins. So most people are better off leaving SAN management in the hands of storage people, regardless of whether their SAN is made up of FC or iSCSI.

The Virtual Data Center

Things are changing, however. The modern data center is evolving to virtualize all three major IT infrastructure components: Servers, storage, and networks. Over the last year or so, we’ve seen the first fully-virtual infrastructure built, with all three areas combined in a single box, soup-to-nuts. Consider a VMware ESX server with virtual servers talking over virtual networks to a virtual storage array from FalconStor or LeftHand – it’s an entire data center in a box!

Server admins are normally tasked with everything “in the box”, including VMFS and virtual network connectivity, just as they always had to manage volume managers and path management software back in the “physical server” world. I doubt this will change. So we could see not just storage but network folks excluded entirely from the next-generation virtual datacenter!

This doesn’t have to be how things end up, though. I strongly believe that network and storage pros have critical insight into their areas, and cutting them out would be a tragic loss akin to what happened when open systems folks decided not to pay attention to the lessons of the mainframe generation. We would effectively repeat a decade of experience and learning that could, with minor modifications, be brought right into the modern world.

There are three things to do:

1. Re-combine the stovepipe IT infrastructure organizations (server, storage, network) into a single management organization with specialists in these areas and others like virtualization and cloud computing.
2. Spend the time and money to cross-train everyone to re-apply their experience and skills in this new world. Storage folks, for example, must know a good bit about server virtualization or their skills will have much less value!
3. Bring the mainframe, security, and records management folks to the party, too! They all have essential insights, and a failure to give them a seat at the table would be a critical loss.

Database and Applications

Then there are the DBAs and IT application folks. These teams have always been held at arms-length in the open systems world, and much closer on the mainframe side (especially the database people!) I think there has been a feeling that there were enough interests at the IT infrastructure planning meetings already without mixing them in as well! The current response is a service-based approach, where IT infrastructure adds an analyst role to develop SLAs and standard service offerings and act as a liaison between ITI and IT Apps.

This is probably enough for a conventional system, but there are changes here as well. Virtual appliances can step right into the apps arena, and the database/storage hybrid devices from Oracle/HP, Netezza, and the rest tromp right through the DBA world. Then there are the “webby dubby” (Web 2.0) storage services/devices like Amazon S3, Nirvanix, and EMC Atmos to consider.

Stephen’s Stance

I think we’re seeing another serious change to the status quo: Right after the data center is virtualized and IT infrastructure is recombined, applications themselves will fundamentally transform, demanding a merger of the current IT infrastructure and IT applications groups. This could all come within five years, or it could be delayed or diverted by organizational infighting and intransigence. It will be very interesting to see how it plays out!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2011. | Changes in Technology Drive Changes in IT Organizations and Roles
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Virtual Storage. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

W. Curtis Preston launched his own series of Backup Central Live! seminars for 2011

Last week, after the Exec Event in Palo Alto, I joined my friend W. Curtis Preston for his first Backup Central Live! event. Curtis has spent years educating IT pros about data protection, this was the first week of a new series of self-produced events. And let me tell you, although I’ve seen him present dozens of times, Curtis was really in his element here. He held the packed room enthralled, and the vendor sponsors I talked to were very pleased about the event!

Introducing Backup Central Live!

The Backup Central Live! series are day-long seminars across the USA in 2011. Each event includes over 3 hours of content from “Mr. Backup”, W. Curtis Preston, as well as presentations from Jacob Farmer and the sponsoring vendors. The seminars are free for qualified end-users, which includes most of the readers of this blog!

Curtis and company will cover the challenges of backing up and recovering data in a variety of settings:

• Virtualized servers (e.g. VMware, Hyper-V, Xen)
• Very large servers and data centers
• Remote offices and laptops
• Data retained for multiple years

The session also includes technical detail about key products and technologies:

• Cloud Backup Services
• Deduplication
• Continuous data protection (CDP) and near-CDP
• Archive software
• Tape and its proper role

Attendees even get free breakfast and lunch, which was of a good hotel caterer quality in my opinion.

Stephen’s Stance

The Backup Central Live! crew does a great job putting together a professional event

I knew Curtis could put together quality backup content, but the crew deserves credit for such a professional and successful event. They attracted some great sponsors, too, including AppAsure, Aptare, FalconStor, NEC, Quantum, Spectra Logic, and Cirtas. And Jacob Farmer’s involvement was a pleasant surprise, too: I’ve always enjoyed the deep technical conversations I’ve had with him!

If you enjoyed my own backup, archiving, and storage seminars in the past, I know you’ll love this event. The next Backup Central Live! cities are as follows. If you’ll be around, you really ought to attend!

• Orlando, FL Feb 1 Register here
• Houston, TX Feb 8 Register here
• Chicago, IL Feb 22 Register here

My only suggestion for the crew is that they get a bigger room next time!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2011. | See W. Curtis Preston’s Backup Central Live!
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Gestalt IT, Personal, Virtual Storage. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Although it's fun to speculate about blockbuster purchases, smaller acquisitions make much more sense

The industry is buzzing with rumors that Isilon will be the next big storage acquisition now that 3PAR is safely in HP’s hands. The alleged buyer, EMC, is itself surrounded by rumors of becoming a shared feast for Oracle and Cisco. But there are much more accessible and tasty items on the enterprise IT acquisition menu, and the lower cost of entry makes them much more likely to come about!

Buying Talent, Technology, and Market Share

There are three good reasons companies look to buy others:

1. They lack the talent to play in a certain market. Although engineers are often touted as the prize in tech acquisitions, other kinds of talent (sales, marketing, and leadership) often make more of the difference. But buying talent is perilous because (especially in California), talent can walk out the door.
2. The next gap to be filled is technology itself. Startups are often more innovative and creative, filling new product niches and taking risks on new concepts. This manifests itself as product, of course, but IP and roadmap are equally important.
3. There is also market share to consider. Companies love to crow about their sales leadership, and very little matches the messaging that comes from overtaking a competitor in sales. Buying up a smaller, but not insignificant, competitor is a great way to achieve this!

There are a few more reasons companies get bought, of course. Companies sometimes build up vast cash reserves, making them ripe for a buyout. Others bring together assets that are more valuable split apart and sold off than together. Still other acquisitions are made to keep a competitor from having a key component of the market.

There are many great companies in enterprise IT, often packed to the gills with talent, technology, and market share. NetApp, EMC, Juniper, Symantec, and so many others are loaded with value, yet not all are about to be acquired.

What’s Stopping You?

It’s not easy for a company to buy another. The most-obvious roadblock is financial: As I discussed regarding Oracle, HP, and NetApp, companies can use cash, debt, or stock to make the purchase. Cash is clean and tidy, but each has its own trade-offs. At the end of the day, the purchase price can be too big a hurdle to overcome.

NetApp and Juniper have market caps around $17 billion, making them a very expensive purchase. Symantec is a little smaller at $12 billion, but it’s still large enough to be out of play for many companies. And EMC, at $42 billion, would be a historically-large acquisition, probably requiring more than one company at the table.

Although far smaller, Isilon begins to look expensive once one looks at the prospects for return on investment. Currently priced just under $2 billion, Isilon has solid clustered NAS technology and is a major player in high-performance computing. But they are not even ranked in the top external storage vendors according to IDC, and EMC and NetApp rule the mainstream NAS market. Their annual revenue grew respectably from $61 million in 2006 to $120 million in 2009, but that’s small-potatoes in enterprise IT terms. And with just $79 million in cash and short-term investments, they won’t be bought for plunder either.

Ripe Fruit

Isilon is just too small to justify a multi-billion dollar acquisition, but there are other tastier possibilities in play. Three in particular come to mind:

1. FalconStor has excellent technology, proven over a decade and used by thousands of customers. They have excellent OEM connections, too. And their recent CEO ousting makes them a killer bargain at under $150 million. Seriously – they could make that much revenue next year given a solid sales re-launch. at the very least, their stock (NASDAQ:FALC) is a solid buy!
2. Overland (NASDAQ:OVRL) is in the midst of a re-birth, but their purchases of Snap and MaxiScale make them an acquisition target in my mind. Their astonishingly-small market cap of just under $17 million is less than their quarterly revenue. Yes, they’re losing money, but this would change quickly in the hands of a strong benefactor.
3. Finally there’s big-data protection specialist, Sepaton. It’s hard to say exactly what a purchase would entail, since Sepaton isn’t a public company, but it’s probably safe to assume that the price would be small and the acquired debt somewhat larger. But their technology is just waiting to be blasted prime-time by some big-data gorilla.

See the common theme here? Great technology, huge potential, and a miniscule price. Although none of these would be much of a market share win initially, all could be serious threats to the established players with some sales effort. Any of the big equipment companies (EMC, Dell, IBM, Oracle, or Cisco) would make hay with Overland, and any big software player (Oracle, CA, IBM, HP, or Symantec) would find much to love in FalconStor or Sepaton.

Stephen’s Stance

Although multi-billion dollar blockbuster deals are more fun to speculate about, smaller technology purchases like these can have much greater leverage. I expect at least one of these companies to be snapped up in the next year, and wouldn’t be surprised to see all three gone before Isilon, EMC, or Symantec. Indeed, I just don’t see the business case for an Isilon acquisition today.

Image credit: Cash Register 70 by zizzybaloobah

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | Why FalconStor, Overland, and Sepaton Ought To Be Acquired Before Isilon
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Gestalt IT, Personal. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Huawei Symantec recently introduced their SAN, NAS, and security offerings for the United States market

Surprise! Huawei Symantec has arrived in the United States, ready to take on the midrange storage and network security market with a line of devices that have proven their worth in the international market for three years. I sat down with the company’s management at Storage Networking World and quizzed them on their plans and aspirations for growth.

Introducing Huawei Symantec

It’s important to get one thing straight right off the bat: Huawei Symantec Technologies Co., Ltd (Huawei Symantec) is neither Chinese telecom giant, Huawei, nor American storage and security powerhouse, Symantec. It is an entity unto itself, formed in 2008 as a joint venture of the two but managed independently. And Huawei Symantec USA (HS USA) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of this China-based operation rather than a simple sales or marketing engine. Huawei Symantec USA is akin to NEC’s American operations rather than a global subsidiary like HDS or an integrator/reseller.

Huawei Symantec was created to commercialize the enterprise storage and server hardware of Huawei and the enterprise software offerings of Symantec, but blessed with its own independent 4,000-strong engineering, marketing, and sales force.

This independence is sometimes evident, though perhaps not in HS USA’s initial product offerings. They will enter the market with three products in two lines:

• “Oceanspace” storage:
  • S2600 “Low-End” Fibre Channel/iSCSI SAN array (see this technical whitepaper for more)
  • N8300 unified SAN/NAS array
• “Secospace” security:
  • Secospace USG2000BSR/HSR router/security appliance

Huawei Symantec has a much-broader product range, however, including VTL and PACS storage, cloud storage solutions, SSD drives, and SAN arrays on the storage side (all part of the Oceanspace line); UTM, Anti-DDoS, VPN, and IDS systems for security (referred to as Secospace); as well as servers. The HS USA team confirmed to me that they intend to broaden their product portfolio in America by bringing additional products to market in the near future.

Although these initial products are based on Symantec software, this is not the case for the entire product line. The Oceanstore VTL appears to use FalconStor software, for example, and Huawei Symantec has created hardware and software components that are distinct from both of its famous parents.

What’s In A Name?

I imagine that the famous names attached to this organization might prove to be both a blessing and a curse. The Symantec name carries cachet in the enterprise IT space, much of it inherited from Veritas along with proven products like Storage Foundation, NetBackup, and Enterprise Vault. Although less familiar to Americans, Huawei is a giant in the data centers of the Far East, with thousands of engineers and customers worldwide. But many will undoubtedly draw conclusions about these parents’ motives and strategies and apply these to their child, Huawei Symantec.

I discussed the entry of HS USA with Symantec staff as well, and they stressed that the new company is not driven by (or coordinated with) their management in Mountain View. Their reaction to the new products appeared to reflect the curiosity and interest they might direct towards any new storage or security company that leveraged their products. In short, Symantec appears supportive but disconnected from HS USA. Although they share a name, Huawei Symantec is not an attempt by Symantec itself to enter the enterprise storage array and security appliance market.

The Huawei name and roots in China may prove somewhat perilous, however. Members of the United States Senate and NSA recently moved to block Sprint Nextel and AT&T from using Huawei telecommunications gear, and some of the IT managers I spoke to at Storage Networking World were similarly worried. They expressed skepticism about the build quality and engineering of Chinese products in general and wondered aloud if Huawei Symantec would meet enterprise standards in terms of localization and customer support. And every end user I spoke to was confused about the company’s relationship with Symantec in particular.

Stephen’s Stance

I have been watching Huawei Symantec’s growth for the last few years, and the company’s entry into the United States market has great potential. Huawei Symantec has proven itself on the international stage and brings tremendous engineering and financial resources to the midrange storage and security market. It leverages the contributions of its famous-name parents but enjoys autonomy to go beyond this base.

Make no mistake: Although this is not just another storage startup, its success is not a foregone conclusion. Localization of products, support, and sales is perilous, and every market is littered with examples of failure. Huawei Symantec must act quickly to build strong relationships with resellers, who have traditionally been the gatekeepers of the midrange storage and security market. They must also move aggressively to localize product marketing and develop collateral and strategies to support their new American customers. And they must reach out to educate the market about their relationship with Huawei and Symantec and their engineering credentials.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | Huawei Symantec Enters The United States Storage and Security Market
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Gestalt IT. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

The players are lining up for the biggest acquisition game enterprise IT has witnessed in a while

Today is the (a?) day of reckoning in the 3Par saga, with Dell widely expected to make a counter-offer higher than HP’s bid. But this mega deal, like the Data Domain war before it, sends a strong signal to the enterprise IT world: It’s open season on data storage companies! But the rising superpowers are also likely looking at networking as an area of expansion. The game is afoot!

The Competitors

The simple fact is, enterprise IT prefers to buy from large, established names like HP and IBM rather than smaller and less-familiar companies with names like Ocarina, EqualLogic, or even 3Par. The acceleration of sales by enterprise providers is what makes these big acquisitions so successful and why others involving less-powerful players often fail to deliver the same results.

Full-line “superpowers” like IBM, HP and now Dell and the new Oracle can influence purchasing decisions across a broad spectrum of hardware and software. Many large organizations are tightly coupled to one of these vendors, and will give their products stronger consideration even when they are new or unfamiliar. HP is already flexing their muscle selling their broadened network lineup, and Dell found that it could do this in data storage.

Software vendors like Microsoft, Citrix, and Oracle adamantly maintained a neutral stance toward hardware, but Ellison and company seem serious about changing this. Oracle’s success in selling Sun hardware will likely dictate further software acquisitions for Dell and HP, though IBM already has strength there. Then there is Intel, the wild card who just got wilder with their acquisition of McAfee.

Companies with narrower focus like Cisco, EMC, NetApp, Juniper, and Brocade have the same power within their sphere of influence but cannot pull in wholly-distinct products. Cisco is in the midst of this fight with their technically-excellent UCS blade servers: Although they were certainly a strategic CIO-level vendor in the largest organizations, “blades from a networking company” isn’t the as easy a decision as “networking gear from a full-line company.”

The Game

Then one must consider the market in contention. The enterprise IT space is not expanding, especially in the United States. This is very close to a zero-sum game, with Oracle’s or Dell’s wins being HP’s or IBM’s losses and vice-versa. There is massive money in play, and flexibility enough for it to swing between the competitors, but growth is not unlimited.

Enterprise storage and data center and campus networking are two areas where smaller companies retain enviably-large slices of the pie, explaining the interest in these spaces among the superpowers. These verticals still have room for sales to grow without displacing a fierce full-line foe, and the superpowers have lately been weak here. Storage and networking are enticing opportunities, but each slice is similarly dominated by “vertical superpowers” and partners EMC and Cisco.

So this is the game: Four full-line enterprise superpowers battling each other for datacenter dominance and coveting the extra profits of a few verticals. HP clearly believes they can chip away at EMC and Cisco in storage and networking; Dell and IBM have so far focused mainly on storage; and Oracle hasn’t made a move in either direction, instead challenging the other three in the core server and software space.

Pawns or Knights?

So where does this leave the smaller players? Are they merely pawns in the game, waiting to be sacrificed, or are they knights who can wield power across the field? The largest (Cisco and EMC especially) appear to have ambitions of their own as well as the financial and technical strength to shake up the game. They are unlikely to be acquired by the superpowers. Brocade, too, has broad strength in storage and networking but maintains relationships across the board that make an acquisition difficult.

Strong vertical players like Juniper, NetApp, Riverbed, and Compellent are ripe for acquisition, as were Foundry, 3Com, Data Domain, and 3Par. IBM, Dell, and Oracle are all likely buyers of the networking players, though HP may consider filling in where 3Com was found lacking. All four will likely take a strong look at the remaining storage players as well, with the loser in the battle for 3Par likely to be hungry indeed.

One should also consider the potential impact of smaller acquisitions. Although they would not immediately “move the needle” for a massive superpower, there are many excellent technology companies that could be bought low and pushed strongly. The enterprise-class technology at Sepaton, Pillar Data, Xiotech, BlueArc, Extreme Networks, Force10, Blue Coat, Isilon, CommVault, FalconStor, and many others should not be overlooked. If a superpower can drive a larger acquisition to succeed, imagine what they can do with strong but inexpensive technology from one of these!

Stephen’s Stance

This game is nowhere near finished. The 3Par acquisition will not only generate revenue, it will shake up the ranking of data storage array dominance. This is very likely to kick off additional acquisition in the data storage space, spurring either Dell or HP to pick up additional technology and perhaps causing IBM or Oracle to engage as well. With no easy alternatives to 3Par, I expect Compellent, Xiotech, and Pillar to get closer looks, but Sepaton and BlueArc are just as ripe. NetApp may be too expensive at this point, but would be a nice match for Oracle’s strategy.

HP’s acquisition of 3Com could also signal a race to integrate datacenter and campus networking technology into the stack. Many are suggesting a Brocade acquisition, and it would be much cheaper than Juniper, but OEM ties make it a difficult purchase for any of the superpowers. Extreme and Force10 would be excellent and less-expensive alternatives.

We should also keep our eyes outside the superpower space. Intel showed that they can make big moves, and Microsoft might consider a diversification into hardware as well. One should also look to the East, where Huawei could try to enter the Western market with a merger or joint-venture to cast off the China stigma. Although I would love to see a rebel alliance rise (imagine Juniper, NetApp, and Symantec joining forces!) this is not a likely scenario.

Image credit: Chess Board by mosdave

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | The Enterprise IT Acquisition Game
This post was categorized as Computer History, Enterprise storage, Everything, Gestalt IT, Virtual Storage. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

I’ve long wished for a new enterprise storage superpower. Competition is good for everyone, and the enterprise storage space has always been highly competitive. Traditional SAN storage powers (EMC, HDS, HP, and IBM) have been under continual attack from tech-heavy upstarts like EqualLogic, LeftHand, Compellent, Xiotech, and 3Par. The smaller (revenue-wise) NAS market has been more serial, with NetApp knocking off Auspex, then challenged by EMC. Yet innovators have been thick there as well, from Exanet to Ibrix, Isilon to Onstor.

Through it all, one thing has been clear: The major companies, though perhaps lagging in technology, were usually able to withstand the attack of the upstarts through sheer strength of salesforce. Storage is a strategic investment, and selection of a storage platform is much more far-reaching than many IT product decisions. The inertia of an installed storage environment makes it a real challenge to switch vendors, giving the established players massive leverage.

It became clear to me and many others that the best way for upstart companies (and, by extension, technologies) was to be part of an established vendor’s sales process. OEM relationships were a big part of this (witness the success of BlueArc and even NetApp and HDS) but acquisition was a much stronger proposition. If customers were warmer to OEM products than independent sales, they are much hotter when it comes to acquired technology. HP, Dell, IBM, and EMC have all demonstrated the power that comes when an established company buys a startup and puts the power of their sales force behind these new products.

This explains Dell’s fantastic success with EqualLogic. They took a product that was emerging as dominant in its niche (midrange iSCSI SAN) and blasted it into the market, while at the same time optimizing manufacturing and deployment. EMC did the same with Clariion and DataDomain, and HP is showing strong signs of health with LeftHand and Ibrix. Then there is IBM, who took XIV out of Israel and made it a source of irritation to the rest of the industry.

Many industry watchers have long wondered what would happen if the smaller guys got together, forming a new superpower of their own. Would 3Par, BlueArc, and Sepaton be a real challenger? What about Xiotech or Compellent and Isilon or FalconStor? Is mixing and matching some smaller companies a recipe for success? The answer was often a counter-question: What if someone like Dell, who knows how to manufacture and sell, picked them up instead? This seemed much more like a sure-thing, since the established management and financials stave off potential integration issues.

It appears that this is the future. Established players will pick up smaller companies, fortifying their offerings and accelerating sales in a way the little guys weren’t capable of. Dell’s billion-dollar acquisition of 3Par reportedly headed off a similar offer from HP, and will likely spark another acquisition. I imagine the management teams at Compellent and Xiotech just got a lot busier…

Clearly, Dell and HP are playing this game. IBM and EMC are in it, too. But what about Cisco and Oracle? Could they be planning storage acquisitions of their own, to the detriment of partners like EMC and Hitachi? What about the strong contingent from Japan, NEC and Hitachi? And who gets picked up next? We shall see!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | Dell + EqualLogic, Exanet, Ocarina, 3Par = What?
This post was categorized as Computer History, Enterprise storage, Gestalt IT. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

H3C already has a long list of products, most based on in-house hardware and OEM software. On the storage side, the company makes an iSCSI storage array platform dubbed “Neocean”. This storage platform, selling strongly in China, is alleged to leverage technology licensed from FalconStor (on the low-end IX1000), Intransa (on the bigger IX5000), as well as iVivity and Xyratex. OEM storage developer Ciprico today announced that it will be working with H3C on the next generation. H3C also sells a WAFS accelerator leveraging Expand Networks software. All of these should be coming to the United States next year.

Huawei itself is also getting back into the storage market in the form of a joint venture with Symantec, creatively called Huawei-Symantec. This company is set to be coming out with a line of network devices with Veritas-based software built in. We’re hearing about virus scanning and content indexing appliances, as well as NAS and SAN arrays which will include storage foundation software from Symantec right out of the box.

Who knows what’s next from Huawei? I’d guess expanded services, more resellers in the West, and more OEM deals to create bigger systems. In a few years, they might give Hitachi and EMC trouble in the enterprise market, especially when big server vendors like Sun, SGI, Dell, and HP start rethinking their OEM strategies…

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2007. | Storage from behind the great wall
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.