I think the time has come for EMC to spinoff McDATA to shareholders. The SAN will be huge and now everybody seems to know that. This seems to leave McDATA with the problem of more & more of its potential customers being EMC competitors. Just look at the recent IPO of BRCD and the move in ANCR. McDATA is the best of breed & would already have the SAN leader (EMC) locked up anyway.
You can learn about McDATA @ mcdata.com
Here is an interesting press release from last year (with comments from Michael C. Ruettgers):
McDATA Corp. Announces New Board of Directors
to Drive Fibre Channel Solution Initiatives
Broomfield, Colo., Oct. 13, 1998 – McDATA Corporation introduced its new Board of Directors today. Originally founded in 1982, McDATA develops and markets innovative networking solutions for enterprise-wide computing applications, including Fibre Channel switching solutions for open systems environments and ESCON* Directors for mainframe environments.
In late 1995, McDATA was acquired for its networking expertise by EMC, the world's leading supplier of enterprise storage solutions. On October 1, 1997, McDATA was reformed and capitalized as a separate corporation, with an independent Board of Directors, to take advantage of major growth opportunities in the Fibre Channel networking marketplace.
"We chose the members of our Board of Directors by identifying industry leaders who will add value and provide direction as we take the company into the emerging Fibre Channel market," stated Jack McDonnell, president and CEO of McDATA and, now, the elected Board chairman. "Our relationship with EMC continues to be strong, and they are a majority investor in the new McDATA. However, we are also forming strong relationships with other companies. Our strategy is to be the preferred Fibre Channel supplier for all major server and storage vendors, as well as key systems integrators."
The new Board has seven members:
Jack McDonnell, chairman, president and CEO, McDATA Corp.
John Gerdelman, president of Network MCI Services, MCI Telecommunications Corp.
Charles Johnston, CEO, J&C Resources.
Paul Noble, executive VP, Products and Offerings, EMC Corp.
D. Van Skilling, chairman and CEO, Experian
Tom Uhlman, president, New Ventures Group, Lucent Technologies
Larry Walker, CEO, C-Port Corp.
"The adoption of Fibre Channel ranks among the most important IT trends of our day," said Michael C. Ruettgers, president and CEO of EMC Corporation. "McDATA is turning this technology into real solutions that are having a major impact on the way customers manage explosive data growth and serve the ever-increasing numbers of users requiring data access. McDATA's reputation for solid execution and quick delivery of high-quality products will serve them well as they shore up their leadership position in this burgeoning market."
McDATA is the leading manufacturer of high-availability ESCON and Fibre Channel Directors that provide dynamic connections between computers and peripherals in large enterprise data centers. McDATA is the exclusive supplier of the Enterprise Systems CONnectivity (ESCON*) 9032 Model 5 Director to IBM. McDATA recently announced that, with assistance from IBM, it is developing for sale to IBM the new S/390 FIbre CONnection (FICON*) feature within the 9032 Model 5 Director, which will function as the bridge between the FICON and ESCON protocols. McDATA announced and shipped the world's first Fibre Channel Director for open systems. McDATA also offers design, implementation planning, integration test and training services for companies building Fibre Channel fabrics.
Headquartered in Broomfield, Colo., McDATA has more than 270 employees. Information about McDATA's product and services can be found on the World Wide Web at mcdata.com or by calling 1-800-545-5773. |
