Storage Jamboree

There are over fifty storage system vendors. Six have over a billion in revenue, Ten have over 100 million in revenue. And a bunch of the others are marching torwards 100 million. Where is the "Cisco" of storage? EMC is the closest but is far from claiming victory. According to Dan Warmenhoven, CEO of NetApp, the storage market will eventually consolidate and the two players left standing will be NetApp and EMC. We shall see. NetApp is probably the coolest of the leading storage vendors but it actually has the least amount of revenue of the big six.

EMC and NetApp have very different strategies. EMC offers every kind of storage system you can imagine. It has large monolithic storage, midrange, low-end, NAS gateways, storage virtualization, VTL, and CAS. You want it - they got it. However, most of the EMC storage system products use different technologies, which makes it a challenge for its customers and EMC to gain efficiencies. One could argue that EMC has taken a best-in-class approach versus one size fits all. Others could reply that this is just a massive rationalization. NetApp on the other hand does essentially offer a one size fits all. NetApp is focused on adding value primarily through software to manage, protect and access your data and have limited storage platforms. NetApp actually has a wide range of software applications but most people don't know what half the stuff does. Raise your hand if you know what SnapVault does. Raise your hand if you know what FlexClone does. Its interesting that NetApp has built a great deal of value based on its popular Snapshot software but most people don't know how it differs from other snapshot technologies (I'm not telling - go find out for yourself by searching their website - I dare you). The NetApp strategy offers compatibility and value for all of its customers. However, NetApp still doesn't have solutions for the very high-end or the low-end of the market.

The reason there are over 50 storage system vendors is because there are so many variables. There are Enterpise-class, midrange, SAN, NAS, storage virtualization, VTL, CAS, clustered storage, iSCSI storage, scalable file systems, solutions that provide thin provisioning, high performance platforms, and on and on. NetApp has its Storage Grid vision and if you look closely you can see them getting there step-by-step. And NetApp doesn't have to rush to get to its vision since its business is doing very well. On the east cost the EMC vision is not as clear (it must be the New England weather). It continues to innovate through internal development and acquisition but there doesn't seem to be the BIG PLAN. In the meantime, EMC will also continue to rake in the dough. And all the upstarts, startups, emerging vendors and 100 million dollar babies will fight the good fight.