Chuck's Blog

Of VMware And Shipping Containers

I came across a useful analogy to describe what server and desktop virtualization might really mean to the broader IT ecosystem.

I was having a great discussion with a network service provider, and we were discussing trends in our business that might create opportunities in his business.

And, strangely, I found myself talking about shipping containers.

More Examples Of Why Server Vendors Just Don't Get Storage

Time for me to polarize the discussion again.

One of my common themes is that server vendors just don't really get this whole storage thing.

Sure, they appreciate the revenue and the margins, but they tend to see storage as a complement to their server business, and not a business in its own right.

And that leads to all sorts of interesting discussions.

Building A Storage Management Function At Scale

Had a very interesting conversation yesterday with a large international telecommunications company.

And the topic?

Getting better at storage management. 

And I won't bore you with the pedantic discussion -- but I was able to share some interesting perspectives that they found valuable -- at least, they were polite enough to say so ;-)

Tough Decisions For IBM DS8000 Users?

Now, please don't take this the wrong way. 

I'm not picking on IBM here.

But I think that certain customers that are using DS8000s are facing a hard choice -- and it's coming up sooner that later ...

Storage Virtualization and Data Migration

Saw an interesting news blurb from the folks at Incipient the other day, and I got to thinking about where storage virtualization had evolved to in terms of different use cases.

For those of you who haven't been following Incipient, they're out in the marketplace with a storage virtualization solution that bears an architectural resemblance to EMC's Invista, e.g. uses an intelligent switch as opposed to an appliance (IBM SVC) or the array itself (HDS's USP-V)

Why Supporting Knowledge Workers Is Hard For IT

Many IT organizations are being put in yet-another-pickle in meeting the challenges of the newest crop of knowledge workers.

Although the technology is relatively straightforward, organizing and executing around it seems to be the sticking point.

And, although I've collected some glowing stories of IT organizations who've met the challenge, I meet far more that are in the trying-to-figure-it-all-out phase.

A Pretty Good Discussion -- ON Magazine

I had the opportunity to have an interesting discussion / debate with Ade McCormack, widely published author and founder of a noted consulting firm Auridian a few weeks back.

We ended up talking about many of the topics I hold near and dear to my heart: the emerging role of IT, the impacts of newer technologies like virtualization and web 2.0 -- we ran the gamut!

If you're interested, excerpts from the discussion can be found here (page 31) embedded in EMC's "ON Magazine".

BTW, if you have a moment (and have wide-ranging IT interests!) check out some of the other articles as well -- I found this issue particularly interesting on a wide range of topics.

And, unlike other corporate publications I've read, it's pretty interesting reading ;-)

Meet Mr. VMware at EMC

Great news!

Meet Chad Sakac, who's been EMC's Unofficial VMware Czar since the first part of this year. If you've ever met him, you'll realize that Chad is one of those intense, passionate people who has a lot to say.

And, as he points out, I have been consistently hounding him to start blogging. He's one of those people who really should blog.

His first few posts are pure heavy metal, if you're so inclined.

Blog on, brother .... ;-)

Getting Ready For Hyper-V, and Xen, and ...

Had yet another interesting conversation yesterday that left me puzzled.

The customer said "well, we're probably going to take a hard look at Hyper-V from Microsoft, so we don't expect EMC to be much help".

I was stunned that he would have that perspective.  And then I realized why -- the optics were all wrong.

So let me set the record straight?

How Are You Going To Monetize The Mobile Web?

That was the key question for the panel I was on this week.

It's an interesting question for mobile operators (that is, cell phone companies) around the globe.

The future of mobile networks is -- surprise -- IP-based.

And once you're running open devices on an open network, you going to have to think a bit harder about how you're going to differentiate.