PBurris
Invention in the storage industry historically has revolved around two poles: (1) engineering bit density at lower cost; and (2) increasing overall system parallelism by offloading I/O work to storage system controllers. Consequently, the storage companies have evolved into two, main forms: (1) device manufacturers competing to gain manufacturing efficiencies; and (2) storage system suppliers differentiating themselves on the basis of highly proprietary controller function. While device companies will continue their technology and cost battles, recent, software- based invention is poised to dramatically alter the dynamic in the storage system business, as grid, virtualization, and XAM (eXtensible Access Method) standards technologies mature and moderate the historical advantages of "big controller" offerings. We liken the coming change in storage to the changes that faced network suppliers during the transition to IP-based networking. Some, like IBM, fought the change, and ultimately were driven from the business. Others, like Novell, were forced to abandon the proprietary hardware/software product strategies and compete as software companies (for a while). Others, like Cisco, pushed IP technology hard with a combination of hardware and software invention, making IP innovation safe for customers. Over the next 18-24 months, storage companies will be faced with having to choose similar roles, likely facing similar results.

Action Item: Emerging storage standards and invention will create a new class of storage system winners. The question is: who will emerge as the Cisco of storage by driving new open software storage standards through smartly engineered hardware optimization.