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Another Look at Storage Automation: Page 2 of 3

By homing in on provisioning, HP's taken aim at just one area storage managers may wish to automate. Other candidates for streamlining include restoring lost files from backup; configuring desktops from a SAN; and provisioning virtual servers for software development.

HP's move could spur existing suppliers who've been taking their time about automating storage: Some SRM vendors, such as Onaro, have made moves toward automation, though none can yet claim anything comprehensive. Data center automation vendors, like BladeLogic, say they'll be integrating storage into their wares, though their focus remains mostly on the server environment.

On the downside, HP's announcement is linked chiefly to the vendor's own wares. Similarly, announcements from

EMC earlier this year favored EMC's products.

Will things change, as more big vendors like HP feed into users' desire to save money?

Maybe. EMA's Karp thinks the industry isn't anywhere near the kind of cross-domain integration that supports heterogeneous management and could most benefit IT pros. "The real value of automation will be when we can automate storage, servers, networking, and security," he says. "Today, a couple of vendors can do one or two. Nobody can go into the data center and manage it all."