NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: MIKE KARP ON STORAGE IN THE ENTERPRISE
10/12/04
Today's focus:  The small storage world

Dear [EMAIL PROTECTED],

In this issue:

* Not much goes unnoticed in the storage world
* Links related to Storage in the Enterprise
* Featured reader resource
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Veritas 
Meta Group Whitepaper 
Database Infrastructure Performance Challenges: Approaches to 
Better Manage Application Database and Storage Subsystem 
Performance 

Corporate relational databases now manage the majority of 
business-critical data within the enterprise. IT organizations 
face continuing challenges in managing increasingly complex, 
data-driven application environments. Read this white paper to 
discover several factors which will converge to challenge the IT 
organization's ability to manage its database software 
infrastructure. 
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=84701
_______________________________________________________________
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE NEW DATA CENTER? 

Sign up for Network World's Data Center Newsletter in which 
Johna Till Johnson and the team at Nemertes Research will 
provide an ongoing assessment of current data center business 
drivers and future trends; concrete advice and guidance for IT 
executives seeking to consolidate data centers, improve disaster 
recovery, and deploy virtualization techniques. Click here to 
subscribe: 
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=84817
_______________________________________________________________

Today's focus:  The small storage world

By Mike Karp

Small towns in northern New England like the one where I grew up 
often tend to look inwards.   Not "inwards" in the sense of 
being introspective (although that sometimes happens as well - 
remember, Robert Frost came from this part of the world), but 
rather inwards in the sense of keeping an eye on what their 
neighbors are doing.

For better or worse people keep an eye on one another.  I guess 
it depends on your point of view whether this is good or bad.  
It's nice to know when you are out of town that your neighbor 
will check up if he sees lights on in your living room.  It is 
maybe less nice when he peeks in just for the sake of peeking. 
And of course, always, there are also more than a few busybodies 
who like to know who is not paying their taxes, who just got 
arrested, and who is sleeping with whom.  Whether or not such 
topics are any of their business is of course beside the point.

Often such towns split up into two or three groups, which talk 
among themselves but often don't spend much time with the 
members of the other groups.

The storage world in some respects is like a small town.  On the 
vendor side, everyone knows what everybody else is doing 
because, after all, everyone goes to the same meetings and talks 
with the same people year after year.  Furthermore, in many 
cases the executives play musical chairs with the same small 
group of companies, moving from one to the other over the course 
of their careers like elk on a migration route.  Often they 
bring their minions with them (I know the metaphor breaks down 
here - I am pretty confident elk have antlers, but I am not 
quite sure about the minions).

IT managers move in similar circles. Although they change jobs 
with less frequency, they still spend a fair amount of time 
talking among themselves. Managers aggregate with groups who 
have similar responsibilities and similar challenges:  IT 
directors at merchant banks tend to listen to IT directors at 
other merchant banks; CIOs at healthcare providers tend to spend 
time in discussion with their counterparts at other companies in 
the healthcare segment.

Vendors and IT management are constantly looking over their 
shoulders at one another, each trying to understand what the 
other is doing.  Occasionally they get together for a social 
occasion (the vendors tend to call them "focus groups," the 
folks on the IT side sometimes pronounce it "boondoggles"), but 
other than that the two groups don't interact nearly as much as 
you might think they do. 

And they still keep wondering about who is sleeping with whom.  
We'll talk about that next time.

P.S. If you are going to be at Storage Networking World and you 
happen to see me, please stop by and say hello.  I'll be the 
haggard looking guy trying to get an article in on time.

RELATED EDITORIAL LINKS

IBM supersizes storage arrays
Network World, 10/11/04
http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/101104ibmstorage.html

Back-up protection on tap from storage vendors
Network World, 10/11/04
http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/101104replica.html
_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Mike Karp

Mike Karp is senior analyst with Enterprise Management 
Associates, focusing on storage, storage management and the 
methodology that brings these issues into the marketplace. He 
has spent more than 20 years in storage, systems management and 
telecommunications. Mike can be reached via e-mail 
<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by SBC 
Dialing for Dollars 
CRATE & BARREL'S VOIP MOVE NETS SAVINGS AND FLEXIBILITY 

An apples-to-apples comparison showed that a centralized, 
software-based, IP-based platform could provide significant cost 
savings and productivity benefits over a comparable, traditional 
PBX system.  Download whitepaper now, click here 
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=84643
_______________________________________________________________
ARCHIVE LINKS

Archive of the Storage newsletter:  
http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/stor/index.html

Breaking storage news and analysis:
http://www.nwfusion.com/topics/storage.html
_______________________________________________________________
Wireless standards, challenges, solutions, implementation, and 
security 

While wireless access to information and applications does 
increased productivity, wireless LANs bring a new set of 
management and security challenges. Join the experts in a 
special webcast on wireless network troubleshooting. 
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=84845
_______________________________________________________________
FEATURED READER RESOURCE
THE NEW DATA CENTER

Today's top companies are accelerating toward Web-based 
computing. That means building the new data center -- where 
grids, virtualization, autonomic computing and other big changes 
shatter the traditional boundaries on applications and 
information, and bring the extended enterprise to life. Learn 
about The New Data Center on NW Fusion's Research Center at:
<http://www.nwfusion.com/topics/datacenter.html>
_______________________________________________________________
May We Send You a Free Print Subscription? 
You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered 
at your fingertips each day. Now, extend your knowledge by 
receiving 51 FREE issues to our print publication. Apply 
today at http://www.subscribenw.com/nl2

International subscribers click here : 
http://nww1.com/go/circ_promo.html
_______________________________________________________________
SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES

To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World e-mail 
newsletters, go to: 
<http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/Changes.aspx> 

To unsubscribe from promotional e-mail go to: 
<http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/Preferences.aspx> 

To change your e-mail address, go to: 
<http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/ChangeMail.aspx> 

Subscription questions? Contact Customer Service by replying to 
this message.

This message was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Please use this address when modifying your subscription. 
_______________________________________________________________

Have editorial comments? Write Jeff Caruso, Newsletter Editor, 
at: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 

Inquiries to: NL Customer Service, Network World, Inc., 118 
Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772

For advertising information, write Kevin Normandeau, V.P. of 
Online Development, at: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 

Copyright Network World, Inc., 2004

------------------------
This message was sent to:  [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Reply via email to