Less hardware is usually cheaper when it comes to storage, so the ability to create an iSCSI SAN from servers and existing gear, as StorMagic purports to do, has the potential for savings in several directions including trimming the "green" costs of data center equipment.
Consolidated I/O also could reduce the storage footprint. With Nuova Systems' technology, for instance, a converged network adapter will replace the myriad cards currently required to link blade servers to iSCSI, LANs, and Fibre Channel networks. Xsigo envisions virtualizing the I/O process itself, with resulting reductions in hardware outlay. And Fusion-io's storage-equipped PCIe card could speed up I/O while eliminating the need for extra disks.
By boosting storage pros' ability to manage data, especially email, companies like Racemi and Teneros will help customers reduce operating costs and buy time for modernizing their storage infrastructures.
If the hurricanes and power failures of recent memory have taught IT pros anything, it's that guarding data is an environmental as well as technological concern.
You get the picture. Our Top 10 is as much about trends as about startups. With this in mind, it's interesting to check back at our past Top 10 startups, and the follow-on "where are they now?" coverage we gave them, to see what the key trends have been over time. To help things along, you'll find the listings of all companies we've covered and the links to appropriate articles in the table below:
Bob Friday, Chief AI Officer for Juniper Networks, explains how the advanced technology is transforming operations.
Contact center leaders from 8x8, Awaken Intelligence, and 360insight discuss the importance of agent experience.
AI may force enterprises to rewire parts of their data centers so they are fully optimized to run such workloads. The question is do you use Ethernet or InfiniBand?
