A shift in IBM's NAS strategy away from Microsoft would inevitably dampen some of Redmond's gathering momentum in the segment. Some analysts believe Microsoft and its partners have the potential -- at some point -- to give Network Appliance Inc. (Nasdaq: NTAP) a serious run for its money (see NetApp Squares Off With Redmond).
Zane Adam, director of product management and marketing in Microsoft's Enterprise Storage Division, would not confirm whether or not IBM is phasing out its Windows NAS. "Obviously I cannot speak for IBM," he says.
However, Adam says, Microsoft's share of the NAS market continues to grow and it continues to steadily sign up new OEMs. "The thing that happens in any new market is that competition increases and different OEMs and partners will pick different segments they want to compete in depending on their competencies," he says.
Even without IBM, though, Microsoft has a strong stable of other vendors that license the its NAS software, including Dell Computer Corp. (Nasdaq: DELL), Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), and Iomega Corp. (see HP Births Bouncing Baby NAS).
In addition, EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) in April announced that it will release a low-end NAS system based on Microsoft's operating system in the third quarter of this year (see Microsoft Powers Up NAS Play and EMC Kisses Microsoft's NAS).
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