Compaq's Storage Vision: On-Demand Access
By Carolyn Whelan
From the Systems pages of Electronic News: October 5, 1998 Issue
Storage
Houston, Texas--Storage as a utility; one that you can access on demand for more memory on your laptop prior to travel, or inject into a server in anticipation of a brownout. That's the vision that newly-merged Compaq and Digital, along with various standards bodies, are working toward.
"We're looking at an infrastructure that provides storage as a utility service," said Kirby Wadsworth, VTM marketing manager of Compaq's Storage business.
Mr. Wadsworth cited research showing that 70 percent of the value of a server within 5 years of its purchase is related to storage. "Our goal is to maximize the overall sale of storage," he noted.
Compaq sees a future in which storage is regularly delivered via a device, similar to how telecommunications services are supplied through a phone, where the network connection is key. A storage port on the wall would serve as the network, so that a server, laptop or desktop could be plugged in to access the storage pool.
In Compaq's vision--one that Digital said it also held previously--an allotment of storage is dedicated to a user, which he or she can tap into as needed by entering a network access code and number.
In The Short Term
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In the short term, Compaq is implementing a technology transition plan so that customers can make use of new products when they become available while they hold on to the old ones. From a top-level perspective, Compaq intends to create a brand for Compaq StorageWorks, and to focus on three major market areas with a single common architecture.
They are: the internal server space, where it has already played; the non-captive open market, where Digital has a presence that Compaq wants to grow; and a new area, the business critical storage space, which is new to both companies. Key to winning business there will be interconnecting IBM mainframes to storage infrastructure, says Compaq, to provide disaster tolerance over distance.
Simple enough. But to work seamlessly, the complex infrastructure behind it has to be professionally managed, with easily-available tools to handle reallocations and shortages when service teams aren't around.
That's where the Services business that Compaq acquired from Digital, along with other businesses, like Storage, step in. In its new incarnation, says Compaq, the Services unit will play a key role.
Analysts believe that in the long-term the Digital/Compaq combo will be a formidable contender in the storage space. But the duo still has work to do to position themselves as anything other than a server company.
"Overall, I'm impressed with the potential of Compaq and Digital. But I think they've got a long way to go in terms of making it a reality," said Dave Vellante, a storage analyst at the International Data Corp. (IDC). Mr. Vellante touted Digital's StorageWorks product set, customer base, installed base and services business as real pluses for Compaq: capabilities that over time will help it compete effectively in the storage business and, ultimately, could push it to the forefront.
Some Really Nice Technologies
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"They've also got some really nice technologies, the things that are coming out of Digital and Compaq--the fiber and storage area networks stuff which is really interesting," he added. Still, he said, the real challenge lies ahead because Compaq is a server company first. That position could make competing against the pure-play storage vendors like EMC Corp. difficult.
"But that doesn't mean that can't get their fair share of the market," he said. "As the largest player, we expect them to be a major force together, much stronger than they were separately." Regarding storage as a utility, he said it is a long-term reality but in the near-term a pipe dream. "So it's unlikely to catapult Digital and Compaq into the limelight," he added.
Though the vision of storage-on-demand is an appealing one, it's not going to become reality overnight. How does Compaq intend to approach a market that it has, until now, not been active in, as it rolls out its products and services?
Actually, Compaq has been in the storage business for some time--internally at least. Until July, when the company acquired Digital, its storage unit was focused only on internal customers who had already purchased Compaq servers. As such, given Compaq's no. 1 status in the NT server space, its captive market was a huge business ($2.85 billion), focusing on the Smart Raid 3200. Until now, Compaq has sold half of all the NT storage for NT servers, according to IDC.
Sitting In Storage
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Other products that sat in Compaq's storage business included its PCI Raid Controller which, the company said, require no cables and is hot swappable. Also prominent was the PCI backplane Raid Controller. But Compaq lacked the infrastructure and prowess to pitch those same services outside of the company. The acquisition changes that.
Though the technologies behind its products and services will have a single common product architecture, they will require a methodology for changing it later through a packaging refresh, says Compaq. Though it's a simple concept, the actual implementation could be cumbersome.
To start with, components including CSA2 connectors need to be updated. Since drives are becoming faster, more dense, and putting out more heat, they need to be cooled and kept from vibrating.
Tapping Network Integration
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In the latter area, Compaq is looking to partner with companies, and said it will regularly tap into the Network Integration Services business that it absorbed from Digital. But the combined companies can't do it alone. So they are working closely with industry associations, to develop protocols, and are looking outside to find missing links in the model.
In particular, Compaq says it lacks expertise to interconnect to the IBM mainframe market through bridges and translation products, and to interface StorageWorks into IBM. IBM has considerable storage technology of its own.
Compaq also seeks to beef up its skills in the business-critical storage planning, implementation and management areas. The company already has strong partnerships with companies in that realm, like data management providers including Oracle and Microsoft. It will expand on those alliances and those with Computer Associates, Seagate and Logato, as well as look outside, to newcomers.
A Long History
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Digital has a long history in storage products. The company's StorageWorks products, which used the same components as Compaq, focused on higher-end solutions with no single points of failure. Its modular packaging architecture employs swappable disks and fans. In 1997, the year before it was gobbled up, the company boasted a $2.1 billion storage business, centered around its disc-oriented raid systems, according to IDC.
Common to both companies, says Compaq, is a fiber channel infrastructure, storage management tools and the philosophy of storage as a utility. Compaq's enterprise focus, high-visibility and high-volume sales don't hurt, either. It's a good mix: in 1998, IDC projects Compaq to be the number one storage products vendor, with projected revenues of 3.86 billion, beating out number two vendor IBM by some $2 billion.
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