Thanks for the summary, Steve.
>> Storage is an area that EVERYONE has identified as being critical to the future of Information Technology.
The big question is, has the demand for storage actually declined, or have companies just been delaying purchases while filling existing storage capacity to the brim? If it's the latter, wouldn't you expect to see an explosion of orders once the macro-economic recovery has been confirmed?
>> Due to the above two points, ALL players will be under incredible pricing pressure.
I think they have been for some time, witness EMC's steep decline in margins. But while ntap's top line has been affected, they have been able to maintain margins, and, I fell they may have even grown share in a declining total available market. If they don't have a strong technical edge, why would this be the case?
>> I'm NOT saying they're doomed or anything like that - just that they're not going to be the "gorilla" (in your parlance) that some folks thought they might be.
Most Gorilla Gamers have classified the storage sector as a "Royalty Game", and pegged both EMC and NTAP as Kings, not Gorillas. That means we haven't assumed that either of them has an iron grip on their respective sectors, and the situation is even more unstable due the convergence phenomenon.
>> I'd suggest that, ESPECIALLY in technology, "due diligence" is an action that must be constantly exercised, not performed and put in a file folder...
You're preaching to the choir, Steve. That's the reason the ltb&h gang is here. The unfortunate part is that we seem to have most of our resident propeller heads during the downturn, and the focus has largely been on trading related issues.
uf |
