Chuck's Blog

The New (Mobile) Desktop

About two or three times a year, I have a "d'oh!" experience, one where something hits me so strongly that I wonder how I missed it.

Generally speaking, these are trends in the industry that I was only paying casual attention to, but -- suddenly -- I realized that something big was going on here, and it really mattered.

I had a "d'oh!" experience this week while travelling in Europe, visiting with a few telecommunication providers.

And I finally started to really, really grasp what this mobile thing was all about.

Maybe you already "get it", and I'm the slow one here. 

If that's the case, I apologize in advance.

Please, Not The "S" Word!

Ours is an industry that tends to overuse and abuse words more than most.

We use them too frequently, and too imprecisely to the point where they lose their ability to convey significant meaning.

And, on the list of maligned IT words, I hold a special place for the word "solution".

In our industry, it's applied to so many things, it has come to mean almost nothing.

I've come to call it the "S" word -- to let people know I consider it impolite and inappropriate to use in public unless you're willing to take the time to convey what you might mean by it.

RecoverPoint Redux

As you might know, I like to dig into parts of EMC's portfolio that I think are especially cool, and share with you what I really like about the different pieces.

Somewhere in all the activity last week, there was a major announcement around RecoverPoint, our next-gen replication platform.

Not only is RecoverPoint cool technology, but it's a cool story as well.

Travels In Europe

Sorry for not posting lately, but I've been travelling this week.

I seem to go back and forth between despising travel, and welcoming the variety and exposure to other perspectives.

I'll need to catch up as quickly as I can -- a lot happened this week that deserves commentary.

FCoE Gathers Steam

When I first started discussing this emerging storage networking standard, it brought out vigorous debate, not only from others in the industry, but also within EMC.

I've been quietly tracking FCoE, and -- not surprisingly -- it appears to be on its way to achieving critical mass.

And, it's not just me who's noticed the same thing.

EMC To Acquire Pi Corporation

In a world of corporate acquisitions in information technology, there are those that eventually matter, and those that are just part of the landscape.

Everyone is free to come to their own conclusions regarding this particular acquisition by EMC, but I for one see this as signaling yet another shift in the technology landscape – one whose impact probably won’t be blatantly obvious for some time.

Let me share with you why I think this isn’t your everyday acquisition …

Is Your Storage Vendor Serious About Storage?

Today's news was sad for parts of the community, but somewhat inevitable.

Apple decided that they were essentially getting out of the enterprise storage business.

I'm not one to criticize Apple's move -- in some regards, it's not surprising -- but I think the announcement will cause many to reflect on who they're buying this technology from, and their commitment to the business.

BTW, like most of you, I have enormous respect for what Apple has done over the past decade.  I fully appreciate who they are, and what they're trying to do.  On one level, they've redefined what it means to be "cool" in the technology biz.

But, with all due respect, they had no business being in the storage business.  As a reseller or OEM, perhaps.  But as a manufacturer of the core technology, it was a really bad idea from Day One, IMHO.

Skiing And Storage

OK, this is going to be an off-beat post.  I'm on vacation this week (sort of), skiing in New Hampshire. 

So, what can possibly be the connection between skiing and storage?

It'll be a little strained, but I'll get there ... just be patient.

How The EMC Disk Library Came To Be

EMC offered up a press release today reflecting on the market success we've enjoyed with the EMC Disk Library (EDL).

I felt a special bit of satisfaction when I saw this.  The EDL was one of my special projects way back when.

Some people think that new product development is largely an autonomous, faceless process.

It's not.  Sure, there's plenty of process and data.  But, in most cases, there are a few people who really believe in a new product, and are willing to go to great lengths to see it happen.

And I was one of those people for the EDL.

Can You Trust Your Cloud?

The industry is all abuzz with conversations about things cloud-like these days.

Sure, EMC has added our views to the discussion in terms of technology, architecture, requirements, use cases, etc.

But there's a certain element that's going to be required for this stuff to really take off.

And that's trust.