Hi Raymond, I guess my open-ended questions have a way of not revealing too much <G> I am actually pretty familar with the EMC (SAN) vs. NTAP (NAS) debate....having owned both for much of last year......BTW- Ruettgers is EMC's former CEO, now Chairman....who drove the turnaround of company in early 90's, and rode it up (until recently)...
Because of their focus (purely on storage), I believe EMC and NTAP will continue to take share from all others (Sunw, Cpq). I expect Dell will pick off some share at the lower end, but Dell is never one to invest too heavy ("bet the farm") on R & D, so I don't know if they'll ever have enough to challenge NTAP in the mid-range space. Both NTAP and EMC state that there is enough growth that, right now, EMC vs. NTAP is really not the question. One day it will be. I believe them on that.
Supposedly EMC's Nas offering is inferior to NTAP, but when has superior technology always been determinate of (who wins?). Actually, I think NTAP will do fine (because of the value proposition), but EMC are damn fine marketers.....so it should be interesting battle. Also, EMC spends a ton on research, so if they come up with something more competitive to NTAP current offerings within a couple years, it could get even more interesting.
Can NTAP move up the food chain? (Fortune 100?). One would think so, but, again, I wouldn't underestimate EMC's strength in that area...
I like both EMC and NTAP on bounces, and will like them again if/when the Naz turns around for any length of time.
The switch guys are more confusing to me (to buy or not?)....the valuations are so high, and, as you identified, the technology can be "obsolete-d" by the next established standard, so there is some risk there..
Finally, EMC/NTAP could get hurt by a slower consumer roll-out of broadband...just think about all the storage opportunities with full-motion video available in every home (!)...even still, storage does seem like a premium growth area for some time to come., even if all growth opportunites realised in the near-future....
Thanks for your thoughts. |
