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Technology Stocks : EMC How high can it go? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ron grimm who wrote (3292)	12/2/1998 4:16:00 PM
From: Jerryco	Respond to of 17183

From the George Gilder thread, Go the Gilder thread to read prior posts in order to put this into context. Re: Fat servers Actually, that is a recipe for certain disaster for Sun. The reason is that it turns the "fat server" into a pure commodity. Sun, like all hardware manufacturers, benefits greatly from "architectural lock-in" (why else do the various Unix vendors stress the "benefits" of their own unique variants?). True platform-neutrality is the last thing they or any other vendor wants. Those who don't believe this can ask their friendly server vendor how easy is it for them to relace that vendor's server with one by another manufacturer and watch the reaction. The commoditized fat server would delight IBM since they already own the glass house and are still many years ahead of Sun and everyone else in enterprise-class systems management. However, the real winner in this scenario is neither IBM nor Sun, but rather EMC since they'll own the data.

To: ron grimm who wrote (3292)	12/2/1998 4:23:00 PM
From: Beltropolis Boy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17183

Dell to expand corporate data storage product line December 2, 1998 03:35 PM By Eric Auchard NEW YORK, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Dell Computer Corp. (DELL) said it plans to unveil next week a range of new products that round out its line of corporate data storage systems and that build on its core personal computer business. Dell, the world's leading direct distributor of PCs, and the No. 3 ranked supplier in terms of overall PC shipments, is eyeing the market for data storage systems in a bid to become a more comprehensive supplier of corporate computer needs. The new Dell storage products include new Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) models for small- to medium-sized businesses, corporate work groups and central data centers. It also will offer a tape drive for companies to make duplicate copies of vast amounts of data and a faster, higher capacity version of its existing 650F fibre channel storage system. SCSI is the traditional technology for connecting storage to nearby computers. Fibre channel is a newer development that links computer storage systems at faster speeds, over greater distances and offers far greater storage capacity. "Now Dell is focusing on the clothing that surrounds the computers," industry analyst John McArthur of Framingham, Mass.-based IDC said, noting that storage commands two to four times the profit margins of computers themselves. "The reality is that the clothing is where you make the money," he said. In addition, Dell will announce next Monday the availability of its new PowerEdge 4350 computer server for use in corporate data centers and branch locations by customers who want to add storage capacity as their data requirements grow. The announcements follow the introduction of Dell's first data storage product, the PowerVault 650F in June, its first product in the market for large corporate data storage. Dell has vowed this year to make itself competitive with the top data storage suppliers in the industry. By fiscal 2002, or three years from now, Dell has set a goal of taking a double digit share of the global storage market, a spokesman said. In large part, Dell can do this simply by offering competitive storage products and selling these devices into the growing base of customers for its existing PC hardware. Dell's strategy is to apply its highly efficient direct manufacturing and distribution business model to data storage systems, in order to offer aggressively-priced products that incorporate the latest computer industry technology. Dell is attracted by the hefty 20 percent plus operating profit margins in the data storage business, which run nearly double the margins for corporate computers alone, and the added respectability that comes from being a full-service computer supplier of not just PCs but also data storage, analysts said. Incumbent players in the market include most of the large computer systems makers, like IBM (IBM), Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HWP), and industry leader EMC Corp. (EMC), which focuses solely on storage. While a new entrant to the market for large corporate data systems, Dell is able to build on its existing relationships with computer disk drive makers to offer pricing competitive with existing corporate data storage players. It can do this because Dell already buys large volumes of desktop, laptop and server drives from the same suppliers. Corporate data storage devices can offer trillions of bytes of computer storage by linking together up to 120 or so disk drives in refrigerator-sized boxes. Dell said its new PowerVault 130 tape drive product was developed in partnership with Storage Technology Corp. (STK), an existing player in the field. It's high-end fibre channel storage systems are based on a previously-announced development effort with Data General Corp. (DGN). Early next year, Dell has said it plans to work with Network Appliances Corp. (NTAP) to offer a new type of low-cost data storage, called "network attached storage," which can store data directly from hundreds of PCs without passing through a server PC as has been traditionally required. Dell also relies on Veritas for software to manage storage systems. In addition, Dell plans to announce additional partnerships with unspecified suppliers in the emerging areas of storage area networks, Bruce Kornfeld, a product marketing manager in Dell's storage systems unit, said in an interview.