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Storage User Groups Proliferate: Page 2 of 4

ASNP says its regional directors include storage decision makers from companies including Allstate Insurance Co., America Online, and Home Depot, who will help lead local initiatives.

As ambitious as this may sound for a fledgling organization, the real question is whether the storage industry actually needs another user advocacy group. Leaving aside the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA)'s various end user groups, including its Customer Executive Council, you can hardly swing a beaver these days without hitting a storage user group.

For instance, also today, the Information Storage Industry Center (ISIC) -- not to be confused with the Information Storage Industry Consortium (INSIC) -- announced that SNIA has signed on as the founding sponsor of its StorageNetworking.org initiative (see SNIA Sponsors End User Group). This organization also aims to support the creation of local and regional storage networking user groups (cloyingly called "SNUGs").

Ron Durbin, director of industry relations at ISIC, says he doesn’t see any problem having several organizations out there with such similar goals. “If they’re really out there to support the needs of end users, then there will be two organizations out there benefiting end users,” he says. “They don’t necessarily have to be competitive.”

Sheila Childs, chairwoman of SNIA, agrees. “Basically there’s an opportunity for cooperation everywhere you turn,” she says. “There doesn’t have to be the only place for end users to turn to. If there’s a clear value proposition so the end users aren’t confused, then we’re all for it.”