Where this unification falls apart is at the storage system level and more of these unified systems will begin to bundle the server manufacturer's storage. I know this is not going to make me popular with the server vendors, but with the exception of Dell's iSCSI EqualLogic solution, none of the storage systems by server manufacturers can be classified as market leaders. If this is not the case, why do most of them also OEM, including Dell, something other than their own storage to compete? I think it goes back to my earlier statement, you can only do so many things well.
Users have repeatedly voted with their dollars to buy storage from someone else other than their server manufacturer, despite the fact that in almost every case the server manufacturer has a distinct advantage of being there first when a new project starts.
The more of the stack that is OEMed, the more unification really becomes a series of best of breed decisions made for you. The server component is whatever server they build, at the network it is still going to be the Brocade vs. Cisco choice and the storage system is either a system from a server vendor that is not a market leader, an OEM of a market leader or they let you make this choice on your own, which really is not unification at all and certainly does not make your day to day job any easier or more productive.
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