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Dell Moves Ahead Fluidly in Storage: Page 3 of 3

So how does Dell's Fluid Data Architecture and its related announcements position the company during what is, to put it mildly, a highly evolutionary time in the enterprise storage market? Pretty well, overall. The company has put together a solid line-up of proven and cutting-edge solutions that should appeal to existing customers and allow Dell to compete effectively in still-growing and emerging markets.

To be honest, though, Dell's offerings don't fill absolutely every customer need. In EqualLogic and Compellent, the company made big bets on cost-effective alternatives to the traditional SAN platforms, including EMC's CLARiiON and Symmetrix. However, while we expect Dell to be a strong contender, especially in green field opportunities, displacing existing enterprise SAN systems seems less likely.

That said, Dell today has done something that many have tried and few have accomplished. Its creative approach to acquisitions has, in relatively short order, allowed Dell to assemble end-to-end storage solutions that will be attractive to many if not most businesses. At the same time, Dell's exceptional eye for innovative value means that the time required for those investments to start paying off for company shareholders should be considerably shorter than it is for many traditional storage and system vendor competitors.

Overall, we find much to like about Dell's Fluid Data architecture strategy and solutions. Over time, we expect that storage customers will find much to like in Dell's offerings, as well.

David Hill of the Mesabi Group wrote this piece in conjunction with Charles King, Pund-IT, Inc.

At the time of this publication, Dell is not a client of David Hill and the Mesabi Group.