IBM on top of 2013 All Flash market

Gartner places IBM in the lead for 2013 all-flash array sales

(Excerpt)

Revenue from IBM’s FlashSystem product line increased 278% year-over-year from $43.4 million in 2012 to $164.4 million in 2013. IBM commanded about a quarter of the all-flash array market, as its share grew from 18.4% to 24.6%. The FlashSystem platform came from IBM’s 2012 of Texas Memory System.

…..

Violin Memory dropped from first in 2012 to third last year. Violin’s revenue increased by 22.6%, from $72.1 million to $88.3 million, but the company’s market share fell from 30.5% to 13.2% in 2013, according to Gartner.

…..

Under Gartner’s revised SSA market calculation, EMC is now able to count revenue from only its XtremIO and VNX-F arrays, which were released last November. Despite the short time frame, the EMC all-flash systems placed fourth for the year, with $73.9 million in revenue, and EMC held 11.1% of the market.

…..

In fifth place, NetApp all-flash revenue grew 126.5% for its EF540 all-flash array to $71 million. Nimbus Data Systems also more than doubled its revenue, from $21.6 million to $43.4 million, and placed sixth for the year, according to Gartner.

Filling out the top 10 were Kaminario ($22.5 million), Cisco ($21.4 million), SolidFire ($20.4 million) and Hewlett-Packard ($8.8 million). The total market grew 182% from 2012 to 2013, from $236.5 million to $667.3 million, using Gartner’s revised SSA reporting metrics.

According to the Gartner report, end users purchased 5,281 solid-state array units in 2013 at an average selling price of $126,360, or $9.70 per GB. The most popular capacity range was 10 TB to 19.99 TB, with a total of 2,126 units shipping at an average selling price of $118,647, or $11.59 per GB.

Runners-up were solid-state arrays in the range of 20 TB to 49.99 TB. A total of 1,629 units shipped at an average selling price of $180,699, or $8.82 per GB. Just 171 solid-state arrays of greater than 50 TB shipped last year, at an average selling price of $223,169, or $4.36 per GB. But, that could change this year now that most SSA vendors are making available arrays at higher capacities.

  • Share/Bookmark

Tegile versus NetApp

There’s money in confusion…and it’s YOURS!

Tegile Pricing
button_tegile_pricing
powered by
Logo_echoquote_small
Have you ever tried to decipher a new pricing proposal from one of the “big” storage guys? There are more part numbers than I would expect when building the space shuttle.

It is not enough to have the basic hardware broken down into dozens of pieces but then you have to select a dizzying array of software licensing options for both the array and any hosts using array features.

Here’s a sample SKU list from a major NAS/SAN vendor for a simple NAS array:

FAS6200HA-IB-BASE-1 GF-RAS56200HA,IB,1B CF,OS,R5 2
X70015A-ESH2-R5-C DS14MK2 SHLF, ACPS,14x144GB,15K,HDD 5
X6524-R6-C CBL, 2M, Optical, Pair, LC/C,-C,R6 2
X6530-R6-C CBL,0.5M,PATCH,FC SFPTO SFP-C,R6 6
X1941A-R6-C CBL,5M,CLUSTER4X,CU-C,R6 2
X871A-R6-C 20A Storace Equipment Cabinet,-C,R6 1
X875A-R6-C 20A PWR CORD (4),CABINET, NEMA-S,R6 1
X800-42U-R6-C Cabinet Component Power Cable, R6 14
X5517-R6-C Storage cabinet, Rail Set,42U,-C,R6 1
X6529-R6-C SFP, Optical, Pair, LC/LC, -6, R6 4
X8773-R6-C Multiple Product Tie-Down Bracket,- 2
SW-T4C-CIFS-C CIFS CIFS Software, T4C-C 2
SW-T4C-ISCSI-C iSCSI iSCSI Software, T4C-C 2
SW-T4C-NFS-C NFS NFS Software, T4C-C 2
SW-T4C-SRESTORE-C SnapRestore Software,T4C,-C 2
SW-T4C-SME-C SnapManager Software, Exchange, T4C 2
SW-T4C-SMSVS-C SnapMirro-SnapVault Software Bndl, 2
Software (Host Side)
SW-SDR-WIN SnapDrive, Windows 10
SW-SSP-SDR-WINDOW SW Subs SnapDrive for Windows 3.0 10
SW-SMBR-1000PK Single Mbox Recovery, 1000pk 1
SW-SSPVN-SMBR-1000PKendor SW Sub SMBR, 1000pk 1
SW-SDR-SOL-TIER1 SnapDrive, Solaris, Tier 1 10
1-2CPU
SW-SSP-SDR-SOL-TIER1SW Subs, SDR Solaris Support, Tier 10
SW-SDU-CPU SW, SnapDrive UNIX, CPU 5
SW-SMO-CPU SW, SnapManager Oracle, CPU 5
SW-SSP-SMO-CPU SW, SUB, SnapManager Oracle 5
Services and Support
CS-S-INST Initial Installation-DS14 1
CS-A SupportEdge Standard-FAS270 Mths: 3 2

Wow!

All we wanted was a high-performing storage array.

Instead, we got a dissertation on what the sales person thinks we need. Notice that this proposal contains base hardware, base software, host software, installation services and support. Although this would be considered a “simple” configuration, it is still complex and a potential customer would be hesitant to make any changes or delete any proposed features.

What’s missing?

What’s worse is if the customer proceeds with this proposal thinking they have “covered all their bases” for the future. However, since many projects increase in complexity over time, new features may be needed but this a la carte model requires the customer to re-budget and purchase additional options in the future…more money.

Tegile Systems’ approach eliminates complexity

Compare this nightmare configuration with how Tegile sells their arrays; single SKU and all-inclusive.

Here is a typical Tegile configuration for a fault-tolerant (no single point of failure) 22TB system with SSD and HDD drives.

SKU Description Qty
HA2100 22TB The Zebi HA2100 is a 2U hybrid NAND flash/SATA drive array designed to manage large-scale projects. Software stack includes de-duplication, compression, thin provisioning, snapshots, remote replication and application profiles.
– 22 TB Raw Capacity
– 48 GB DRAM
– 600 GB SSD (Flash)
– (12) 1 GbE data ports, (2) IP-KVM management ports
1

Tegile Pricing
button_tegile_pricing
powered by
Logo_echoquote_small
I like to call this the single most important business feature of Tegile pricing; all inclusive pricing. Everything you will need, now and in the future, is included at no additional charge. When you install the unit and fire up the GUI you will notice that there are no features “greyed out”. This is fantastic for projects that evolve because when you need a feature, its available. Simply configure it!

Want to save money? Consider eliminating complexity with Tegile low cost, high-performing hybrid arrays.

  • Share/Bookmark

When does renting SAN storage make sense?

Have you ever wished you could just borrow some equipment for a short-term project? Maybe you’re migrating to a new platform and just need some breathing room while you make the move.

Here are several situations where renting, not buying, may make sense:

Data Center Migration – Rentals keep a data center operational during a move with critical ‘swing’ equipment for your migration.

Software Testing, Proof-of-Concept, or Virtualization Planning – Rentals enable a full load test of new hardware or software, matching production environment.

Facing Peak Capacity Issues or Planning a Short-Term Project – Renting is a cost-effective option for seasonal or short-term business needs.

Creating a Disaster Recovery or Business Continuity Plan – In the event of a disaster or unplanned outage, rentals can keep your business running.

Managing Infrastructure During an Asset Acquisition Freeze – Renting is typically an expense on the balance sheet – not a capital outlay. As a result, it might be an easier case to make to your CFO.

There are many sources for refurbished gear; from ebay to the top disposition handling companies. For corporate projects, I would steer clear of “self-service” goods via ebay, etc. There are options like Avnet Remarketing Solutions (ask for AJ Harradine) that provide industrial strength gear at self-service prices.

I asked AJ to give me some 3-month EqualLogic rental examples and here’s what he came up with.

Model Per Month (Estimated)
S6510E – 48TB $4,875/month
PS6010XV – 9.6TB $3,900/month
PS6510E – 96TB $7,020/month

Keep in mind that inventory is in constant flux so contact AJ and get in the queue quickly. He’ll put you on their “watch list” for the gear you need.

Thanks for the info AJ!

  • Share/Bookmark

NetApp Pricing Guide

I found this NetApp Buying Guide by Drew Robb at https://www.enterprisestorageforum.com/storage-hardware/netapp-storage-buyers-guide.html

No pricing in this article, just marketing info.

NetApp (formerly Network Appliance) is one of the big players in the world of storage hardware. It pioneered the network attached storage (NAS) market in the 1990s, and since that time it has been locked in an eternal struggle with EMC in several storage hardware markets. In particular, NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) is now a major advocate of unified storage.

“NetApp believes that storage will evolve from shared virtualized storage and scale-out NAS today to a unified architecture at scale, which means the ability of unified storage (SAN plus NAS) to work effectively without having an upper boundary on performance or capacity,” said David Hill, an analyst at Mesabi Group.

The company offers an extensive range of products that are arranged in four primary categories:

Read more…

  • Share/Bookmark