This is an interesting look at EMC product development.
EMC disclosed in the most recent meeting with analysts that NTT DoCoMo bought 265 terabytes of EMC Enterprise Storage during the last 12 months to accomodate the growth of its i-mode wireless data service, which went from 0 to over 9 million subscribers in 18 months. DoCoMo recently announced that it now expects to get 17 million subscribers to its 9.6 kbps i-mode by the end of the year instead of the previously forecasted 10 million subscribers.
Previously, EMC had profiled NTT DoCoMo in its 1999 annual report:
For NTT DoCoMo, the technology foundation of i-mode is its i-mode server, which acts as the gateway to the Internet. The i-mode server is built on EMC Enterprise Storage™, UNIX servers, and Oracle databases.
"When we were designing our technology infrastructure, our number one priority was to ensure that we could deliver non-stop service,” says Enoki. “We are providing a communications service over a telephone and customers expect to be able to use their phones 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Customer expectations are extremely high...”
“With cellphones, there’s a message sent and received at one time, and volumes are very small compared to PCs,” says Enoki. “But the frequency that people send and receive information is much more intense. That means the functions of storage and database are more important, and will become even more so with future generations of this technology.”
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DoCoMo is in the process of spending about $15-$17 billion to upgrade its PDC networks (45-50 million subs) to next-generation WCDMA networks which will have higher network capacity and offer higher data rates. Clearly, they are demanding the most robust storage systems, databases and servers in order to generate more revenues and keep costs down.
As of now, Docomo is on track to roll out WCDMA in phases starting in May 2001 with data rates expected to increase in 32 or 64 kbps increments until it reaches the ITU standard of 384 kbps (mobile) and 2 Mbps (stationary). Obviously, each stage will affect RF (radio frequencency) network planning and increase the demands on the information e-infostructure exponentially.
That's why it's good to see that, once again, EMC has delivered the goods before it starts talking about it.
In this case, I'm referring to EMC's response to Docomo's polite but firm demand that storage and databases work seamlessly as these components become more important in future generations of i-mode.
EMC's newest software suite is ControlCenter, which contains modules that were co-developed with companies like Oracle and Mcdata. Navisphere is the mid-range Clariion management center that integrates seamlessly with the hi-end ControlCenter. Here are some of ControlCenter's features:
Management across your enterprise
EMC ControlCenter extends centralized monitoring and management of Symmetrix, Connectrix, and third-party
switches and hubs to the Enterprise Storage Network. Integration with enterprise management frameworks provides those environments with a single point of control.
Host-to-storage mapping with logical, physical, and line-of-business views
Resource View offers end-to-end mapping of open systems data
structures (database files, file systems, volume groups) to Symmetrix logical and physical volumes.
Database tuning
Building on mapping technologies, Symmetrix Database Tuner identifies Oracle database performance problems in the storage, the server, or the database, to allow for proactive and reactive tuning. Potential problems can be found and fixed before users are impacted.
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The Oracle 8i database appliance is yet another response to DoCoMo's demand, this time from Oracle, EMC and Q-Logic. Those of who have been following i-mode are aware that the tremendous surges in new subscribers and increased usage have created highly-publicized outages that DoCoMo has attributed for the most part to the 185 general-purpose Unix servers that plug into the ESN. The database or application server appliance is clearly designed to reduce the load on the servers as i-mode increases its data rates in the next few years in conjunction with the rollout of newer m-commerce services generally grouped into 3 types: location-based, time-based, and user-based services.
The Oracle8i Appliance, based on Oracle8i , the leading database for e-business, is a rapidly deployable, pre-configured and self-administrating database running on Intel architecture servers. The Oracle8i Appliance contains only the functions necessary to run an Oracle database, reducing complexity and increasing performance. Through the integrated EMC drivers, Oracle8i Appliance users can simply "plug and play" EMC Symmetrix Enterprise Storage systems and Connectrix Enterprise Storage Network systems for their information storage, management and protection needs.
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Nokia recently indicated that the global subscriber base for wireless voice is already at 570 million. The de facto global standard is TDMA/GSM/PDC and the de facto upgrade path is expected to be GPRS/WCDMA or TDMA-EDGE/WCDMA. Over 120 wireless carriers have already issued contracts ($70-$120 million) for GPRS and the expectation is that those GPRS networks will move quickly to WCDMA in the future once it makes good economic sense. Also, over 60 billion-dollar WCDMA contracts will be issued over the next 12 months.
As the main storage systems vendor in the reference technology platform of the largest wireless data carrier, EMC is uniquely positioned to synchronize its R&D and Interoperability programs with other vendors in order to provide deregulated wireless carriers embarking on massive infrastructure build-outs with the opportunity to generate, at the very least, a decent return on capital.
By the way, contrary to the view held by some that the wireless web will replace the wireline web, take note that part of the popularity of the 9.6 kbps i-mode can be attributed to the very low internet adoption rate in Japan. That may be changing, however, as the i-mode seems to be sparking a boom in PC purchases and internet sign-ups in Japan.
Interestingly, two of the largest ISPs in Japan - BIGGLOBE (NEC) and @nifty (Fujitsu) - already have EMC's E-Infostructure in place. Also, NTT, NTT DoCoMo's wireline parent, still seems intent in buying Verio, a classic hosting service provider, which EMC assigns the lowest ranking in terms of revenue quality and thus most likely to embrace new revenue and cost models from EMC, which is billing itself as the service provider to the service providers in this market segment:
Hosting Service Providers/Co-locators (revenue quality lowest, seeks to move up chain
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