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Morgan Stanley Ups Brocade: Page 2 of 2

”The company is using its dominant position in SAN hardware to entrench its software in the network,” the report adds, noting that Brocade is now investing better than 50 percent of its R&D in software initiatives.

While all this bodes well for Brocade, Morgan Stanley’s upgrade focuses heavily on the FC switch-maker's ability to ship its Silkworm 12000 in large quantities in early 2002. This product will see extensive competition from the startup market, which is something Brocade has little experience of so far.

It sits comfortably on 80 percent of the FC SAN market but its Silkworm 12000 is intended to break it into new markets for connecting storage over gigabit Ethernet and IP -- a sector teeming with promising startups(see Sanera Guns for Brocade).

— Jo Maitland, Senior Editor, Byte and Switch http://www.byteandswitch.com