Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Network Appliance -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DownSouth who wrote (540)	1/8/1999 5:14:00 PM
From: Beltropolis Boy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10934

>I am not sure that NTAP would be characterized as in EMC's rearview mirrors. Perhaps side view mirror or through the video monitor on a different race track. <g> ds. thanks so much for your concise and informative reply (ex-ASPXers dissing their former employer -- nice!). regarding my aforementioned words, please let me clarify, as i often tend toward the cryptic. by "rearview," i really meant from my perspective as i'm a relative late comer to EMC and don't intend to let NTAP pass me by without a hard look-see. in a way i feel like i missed the boat on the former, although their future's still incredibly bright. in any case, no slight against NTAP intended. on to the good stuff ... via the 10-k under SALES AND MARKETING, "Network Appliance has established multiple distribution channels to accelerate market penetration of its products. The Company initially marketed its products primarily through indirect sales channels both domestically and internationally. In fiscal 1995, the Company shifted its emphasis domestically to direct sales and significantly expanded its direct sales force. The Company continues to rely primarily on indirect sales in Asia and in some portions of Europe. Network Appliance has approximately 25 sales offices located within North America and 6 sales offices within Europe and Asia. No customers accounted for 10% or more of the Company's net sales in fiscal 1998, 1997 or 1996." from the most recent proxy (dated 21 aug 98), i note big stakes by scudder, PBHG, and nicholas applegate of 8.5%, 7.3%, and 7.2%, respectively. insiders have a respectable 10% holding. i just received my investor's packet yesterday, have printed a small stack of recent articles, and am prepared for a snowbound day of reading. and while there's nothing globe-shattering about the following piece, i like the press nonetheless. thanks again for taking the time to respond to my queries. NTAP appears more intriguing every time i consider it. -chris. ----- Information Week December 14, 1998, Issue: 713 Section: Trends Network-Attached Storage Martin J. Garvey All the excitement around Fibre Channel technology and storage area networks in 1998 neglected one glaring fact. Before SANs proliferate, almost all customers with storage infrastructures will have to tear out the SCSI interconnect that's in place now. More important was network-attached storage. NAS will eventually benefit from the Fibre Channel interconnect and coexist with SANs, but it's already operating fine over the current infrastructure. NAS took off because it gives customers an alternative to the old data center model that makes storage captive to servers. Network-attached devices are snapped in where they are needed and remove work from servers and conventional storage devices. Sometimes called toasters, they require much less programming and maintenance than general-purpose servers or storage systems. NAS is most often used to take over file serving from general-purpose servers, which are freed up to deal with applications and data. Moreover, these NAS devices will perform better than general-purpose storage systems for a specific job because they are dedicated to tasks, carrying a lot less overhead. Ultimately, end users benefit from the new infrastructure, because they get to their files quicker than they ever could before. Earlier NAS devices were fast but had limited storage capacity. That changed in 1998. Two vendors dominate the NAS market and they represent two different spectrums in the IT marketplace. Auspex Systems Inc. originated the NAS market and has continued to provide power and reliability. However, Network Appliance Inc. came out of nowhere just three years ago to take over leadership in the field. The formula behind the Network Appliance success? Early on, it partnered with Microsoft to provide access in and out of Windows clients. In 1998, Auspex introduced a NAS device that supports twice the number of disk drives in a single cabinet as its previous model, while also doubling the capacity of each drive to 18 Gbytes. The Auspex NetServer NS 8000/850, starting at $190,000, can provide more than 1 terabyte of storage space in one cabinet, and as much as 3.6 terabytes when fully configured with three cabinets. Though Auspex has increased capacity, it has decreased each cabinet's size, to 24 by 39 inches, and the vendor says the smaller footprint offers cost savings on floor space. Network Appliance introduced the F700 line, which lets NAS customers manage multiple terabytes of data, keep data running continuously, and consolidate thousands of business and Internet users into a single network data directory. The line includes the high-end F760 (starting at $79,950), which supports multiple terabytes of data; the F740 ($39,950) for the continuous availability of less than 1 terabyte of data; and the F720 ($19,950) for first-timers. techweb.com