The IDC 2Q11 global disk storage systems report is out. The good news is data is still growing, and at a tremendous pace as well. Both revenue and capacity have raced ahead with double digit growth, with capacity growth reaching almost 50%.
And not surprisingly to me, EMC and NetApp have gained market share at the expense of HP, IBM and Dell. Here are a couple of statistics tables:
Both EMC and NetApp have recorded more than 25% revenue growth, taking 1st and joint-2nd place respectively. I have always been impressed by both companies.
For EMC, the 800lbs gorilla of the storage market, to be able to get a 26% revenue growth is a massive, massive endorsement of how well EMC execute. They are like a big oil tanker in the rough seas, with the ability to do a 90 degree turn at the blink of an eye. Kudos to Joe Tucci and Pat Gelsinger.
Netapp has always been my “little engine that could”. Their ability to take market share Q-on-Q, Yr-on-Yr is second to none and once again, they did not disappoint. Even with the change of the big man from Dan Warmenhoven to Tom Georgens did not manage a smudge in its armour. And with the purchase of LSI this year, NetApp will go from strength to strength, gaining market share at the other expense. I believe NetApp’s culture plays a big role in their ability and their success. The management has always been honest and frank and there’s a lot of respect of an individual’s ability to contribute. No wonder they are the #5 best company to work for in the US.
The big surprise for me here is Hitachi Data Systems, posting a 23.3% growth. That’s tremendous because HDS has never known to hit such high growth. Perhaps they have finally got the formula right. Their VSP and AMS range must be selling well but again, for HDS, it is a challenge running to 2 different cultural systems within their company. The Japanese team and the US team must be hitting synchronicity at last.
Dell, despite firing all cylinders with EqualLogic and Compellent, actually lost market share. Their partnership with EMC has come to an end and they have not converted their customers to the EqualLogic and Compellent boxes. The Compellent purchase is fairly new (Q1 of 2011) and this will take some time to sink in with their customer. Let’s see how they fare in the next IDC report.
In this table above, HP has always been king of the hill. Bundling their direct attached or internal storage with their servers, just like IBM, has given them an unfair advantage. But for the first time, EMC has outshipped HP, without the presence of DAS and internal storage (which EMC does not sell). Even with the purchase of 3PAR late last year, HP were not able to milk the best of what 3PAR can offer. And not to mention that HP also has LeftHand Networks which now renumbered as the P4000. On the other hand, this is a fantastic result to EMC.
Where’s IBM in all this? Rather anemic, sad to say, compared to EMC and NetApp. IBM’s figures were 1/2 of what EMC and NetApp are posting and this is not good. They don’t have the right weapons to compete. XIV is slowly taking over the mantel of DS8000 as their flagship storage, and their DS series putting up their usual numbers. But that’s not good enough because if you look at the IBM line up, their Shark is pretty much gone. XIV and Storwiz(e) are the only 2 storage platforms that IBM owns. Mind you, Storwiz(e) is not really a primary storage solution. It’s a compression engine. Both the DS-series and N-series actually belongs to LSI (which NetApp owns) and NetApp respectively. So, IBM lacks the IP for storage and in the long run, IBM must do something about it. They must either buy or innovate. They should have bought NetApp when they had the chance in 2002, but today NetApp is becoming an impossible meal to swallow.
We shall see how IBM turns out but if they continue to suffer from anemia, there’s going to be trouble down the road.
As for HP, what can I say? Their XP range is from HDS but with 3PAR in the picture, it looks like the marriage could be ending soon. EVA is an aging platform and they got to refresh it with stronger middle tier platforms. As for the low end of the range, MSA is also something unexciting and I secretly believe that LeftHand should have stepped up. But unfortunately, the HP sales have to be careful not to push MSA and LeftHand side-by-side, and not cannibalizing each other. HP definitely has a challenge in its hands and both 3PAR and LeftHand have been with them for more than 2 quarters. It’s time to execute because the IDC figures have already proved that they are slipping.
What next HP?
