Allen: I wouldnt be so sure. EMC is making a major move into the NAS market, and its AutoIS strategy is really just a way to help it sell more hardware, dont forget. [See Gartner: EMC Rules NAS Market.]
Byte and Switch: How do you feel about the storage networking bubble? When do you think it will burst?
Allen: The industry has gone through a lot of retrenchment. I think people are hoping for more than they are getting in terms of growth, and theres been a lot of over-acquisition. But we are getting back to a stable environment. In terms of the bubble bursting, it already has: Witness all the startups that are struggling to get more funding; and theres a huge squeeze on these companies, as everyone is going for the same partners and customers you cant have so many people delivering the same story. The good news is it puts more talent on the street for us.
Byte and Switch: We've been getting some strange phone calls lately, from people who whisper down the phone and under absolute secrecy [ooops!] tell us that BlueArc's product sucks and that the company is about to go out of business. Any ideas what they might want?
Allen: We're not seeing the best tactics in the industry when people talk about their competition. Because they are winning deals to save their lives, slamming other vendors is all they can do it's a last-ditch effort. I wouldn't be surprised if that's who's calling you.
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