VMware is in an enviable but tricky situation: The company must work closely with hardware partners, keeping these prime sales and promotional channels happy and supportive. But VMware must also innovate around proprietary OEMs, subverting their products with integrated software before a rival steps up with an integrated alternative. This two-prong "coopetition" strategy has … [Read more...] about VMware’s Hardware Partner Strategy: Heads I Win, Tales You Lose
OEM
Dell + EqualLogic, Exanet, Ocarina, 3Par = What?
The storage industry got a lot more competitive this morning, as Dell announced plans to buy 3Par. This is the latest round in a well-established race for the enterprise storage dollar, challenging superpower (and Dell partner) EMC in the high-end SAN space. What does this acquisition say about the industry as a whole? Where are we headed? I've long wished for a new … [Read more...] about Dell + EqualLogic, Exanet, Ocarina, 3Par = What?
The Difference Between “Integration” and “Frankenstein”
When is a solution integrated and when is it a Frankenstein-like mashup of tangled tech? Apparently, that line is crossed when it's your competitor's offering... In my time in the storage industry, I've seen enough franken-storage come and go to make me skeptical whenever a new "integrated" solution is announced. But a lot of this stuff works just fine, so I also know that … [Read more...] about The Difference Between “Integration” and “Frankenstein”
Western Digital + Fujitsu = More Competition for Seagate and Hitachi
Reports are filtering in today that Western Digital has reached an agreement to purchase Fujitsu's hard disk drive development and manufacturing assets. Already the world's second-biggest drive manufacturer, Western Digital would edge closer to market-leader, Seagate, with the acquisition. The move would give WD even greater manufacturing capacity in Japan, the Philippines, and … [Read more...] about Western Digital + Fujitsu = More Competition for Seagate and Hitachi
Specialized Server/Enterprise Hard Drives
Continuing my overview of the specialized hard drive market, we move on to the world of enterprise hard disk drives. These are performance monsters, with nearly all falling above the 10,000 RPM line that defines "exotic" in the desktop space. They also have a wide variety of interfaces, including parallel and serial SCSI, Fibre Channel, and even SATA. Lots of innovation … [Read more...] about Specialized Server/Enterprise Hard Drives