George,
Interesting take on 3Com's move to enter the SAN space :
zdnet.com
<<3Com last week announced that it will fully embrace storage area networks with a four-phase, multiyear program. But let's take the move for what it really is--a momentum play. 3Com sees that there's no way it can lose with storage solutions, and it's going to be a major player. As the first big networking company to recognize this opportunity, 3Com has had a stroke of genius.>>
<<On the other hand, the entire cast of players in the SAN market will be different in a year, as the convergence between storage and networks takes off. In fact, it's clear to me that the networking companies will build every part of the SAN except for the drives themselves. There's no way that Cisco, Lucent and Nortel--among others--will not follow 3Com's lead here.>>
<<Tough battle for small companies
Assimilation has the habit, in the longer term, of knocking out small, innovative companies. Take tiny Gadzoox and McData, market leaders in SAN switches. How are they going to compete with these huge vendors?
My guess is that corporate IT would be more comfortable buying a Cisco or 3Com SAN switch than products from McData, which sounds like it's the networking equivalent of a fast-food chain.>>
Neil |
