Compression is old news, but it's still relevant. Single-instance storage seems to have come and gone. Then there's data deduplication. So what's the difference? Here's my own piece from the IBM Storage Community blog comparing the three. When I talk about the various state-of-the-art capacity … [Read more...]
What’s the Difference Between Compression, Deduplication, and Single-Instance Storage?
May 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment
What Is a Blade Server?
February 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment
I’ve been watching enterprise IT for over 20 years now, and I’ve seen some radical changes. In the server space, one of the biggest shifts was the form factor of the servers: From tower to rack-mount to blades. But what makes a blade server anyway? Let’s consider this for a moment, as we watch … [Read more...]
HP’s Mighty Stumble
February 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment
How could a company as mighty and diverse as HP have had so many issues with executive management? HP stumbled mightily in 2011, and it had nothing to do with product or people. Even sales remained strong, though the PC business is changing. HP’s mighty stumble was a crisis of confidence due … [Read more...]
“Future Of Computing” For $1000, Alex.
January 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment
All too many time, we are bombarded with what we perceive (or are told) to be the future of computing. Tablet computing, VDI, Cloud, LTE mobile phones, etc… However, that perspective is very short-sighted. That may be the future of computing in the next blink of an eye. However, recently … [Read more...]
Every Company Is Gunning For Someone Else
December 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Everyone has a target on their backs, but they all aim in different directions One of the amusing aspects of being self-employed is watching all the giants battle it out. Every company is gunning for someone, but the amazing thing is that they rarely point their sights directly at each other: … [Read more...]
IBM’s Storwize V7000: 100% SVC; 0% Storwize
October 19, 2010 by 1 Comment
Today, IBM alerted the world that they had not fallen asleep at the wheel by kicking out an awfully-impressive midrange storage array, the Storwize V7000. This seems like an excellent device, filled with proven engineering borrowed from the successful SAN Volume Controller (SVC) line of storage … [Read more...]
Wize Up
October 13, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Some months ago I speculated on the future of IBM's storage roadmap; a post which I believed caused some consternation in IBM as it foreshadowed some of their recent announcement. I expect that over time even more of that entry's predictions will become fact. For what is basically a packaging … [Read more...]
Could Oracle’s Next Acquisition Be HP or NetApp?
September 24, 2010 by 2 Comments
Larry Ellison is on a tear at Oracle. Who will he buy next? Oracle has its sights set very high. Although the company is best-known for its namesake database software, a steady string of acquisitions has transformed the company (and its colorful leader, Larry Ellison) into an industry … [Read more...]
The Enterprise IT Acquisition Game
September 2, 2010 by Leave a Comment
The players are lining up for the biggest acquisition game enterprise IT has witnessed in a while Today is the (a?) day of reckoning in the 3Par saga, with Dell widely expected to make a counter-offer higher than HP’s bid. But this mega deal, like the Data Domain war before it, sends a strong … [Read more...]
3Par Acquisition: The Future For The Storage Industry
September 1, 2010 by 1 Comment
The ongoing battle for 3Par by HP & Dell tells us much more about the state of the IT Industry than just the desires of two companies to acquire some interesting storage tech. It signals an acceptance that storage is a key feature in the future direction of the IT industry – more important … [Read more...]