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Content Management : Storage
EMC Flash Move Catches Industry Offguard
"In one brilliant marketing move, intended or not, EMC has flipped the balance of market power from its former defensive position ... to a leadership position with next-generation technology and performance," gushed former Gartner analyst Nick Allen in a recent Wikibon presentation. And as bloggers, competitors, and consultants continue to parse the SSD announcement, their analysis boils down to three basic questions: Any answers to those questions are guesswork or informed estimates, at best. But to take them in order: In his typically nuanced way, Hitachi Data Systems' CTO Hu Yoshida serves up a balanced discourse on SSD flash versus DRAM, without resorting to much FUD. He also calls for benchmarking performance using open-standards based self-monitoring, analysis, and reporting technology (SMART) for disk drives and software. Storage customers and the industry will continue to digest the impact of flash-based SSDs on the storage equation. EMC expects to start shipping in March, so we're likely to know uptake and competitors' responses well before the end of this year. In any case, being first to market with SSDs looks to have conveyed some pretty clear advantage. « Connecting With InformationWeek On Twitter, Facebook, And Our Forums | Main | Imagining A Post-Motorola World » |
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