VORTEX Digest John Gallant Spotlights Top Network News and Issues Comments to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Dec. 22, 2004 Volume 6, Number 19 ********************************************************* In This Issue: * EMC solidifies its plan to dominate the new data center * Cisco buys newbie security firm Protego * 2005 looks good * Invite a friend to join the discussion * Subscription information ********************************************************* "Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love."
Hamilton Wright Mabie Dear Vorticians, Shortly after sending out last week's missive on the new wave of mergers and acquisitions restructuring enterprise IT, two more deals emerged that illustrate how the major companies are hustling to position themselves for the new data center environment. I spent some quality time on Friday speaking with Howard Elias, executive vice president of corporate marketing and EMC's Office of Technology, about this new data center world and he shared his thoughts on the merger of Veritas and Symantec. Near the end of that conversation, Howard indicated that EMC - which has been busy on the M&A front - wasn't done with its own deals. Voila! This week, EMC, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2004, grabbed up network and systems management vendor SMARTS. The deal helps advance the Information Lifecycle Management strategy outlined briefly in this newsletter some time ago and, in depth, by Howard at the VORTEX 2004 conference. For customers, ILM is all about a more flexible way to architect and manage their compute/storage infrastructure. For EMC, the strategy is all about moving beyond simply providing 'storage,' which is increasingly commoditized, and EMC has been backing up that strategy via some well-chosen acquisitions. Last year, the company acquired Documentum and Legato, moves that provided new tools to help customers manage their data. But then EMC surprised the market with its purchase of virtualization software vendor VMWare - a deal that positioned EMC to take greater control over customers' computing resources. From the disk drive to the server, just like that. VMWare's a young company, but it has already built a robust customer base. Network World columnist Mark Gibbs recently attended a VMWare customer conference and was wowed by both the number of big ticket customers and how they're changing their data centers through use of the company's products. (You can read Gibbs' assessment by clicking on http://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/2004/110804backspin.html.) SMARTS takes this all a step further, giving EMC customers a way to manage better their virtualized computing and networked storage environments. Like VMWare, SMARTS offers innovative technology that has won some powerful adherents in the customer world. It's quite clear that EMC intends to own the virtualized data center environment of tomorrow and it is willing to buy what it needs to make that happen. Ditto for Cisco. Last week I mentioned how Cisco had outlined its plans for the new data center at a recent analysts conference. (You can read about the company's plans at http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/121304ciscoenterprise.html.) This week, Cisco took another step forward by buying up newbie security firm Protego. While this is a smaller acquisition than the SMARTS deal, it paints a picture of the road ahead for Cisco. Key to owning the virtualized data center is offering customers stronger security - security that is inherent to the network, not tacked on at the periphery, like a firewall. If Cisco is going to own this new data center - fending off the likes of EMC, HP, IBM and others - it needs to bolster its security capabilities. You can be sure that the new year will bring news of additional deals by Cisco, EMC and all the other enterprise IT companies that want to dominate the new data center and applications world that is beginning to emerge. On another note, I want to tell the world (apropos of my opening quote) that I'm in love. First, I'm in love with this time of the year. Yes, I'm a sucker for the bright lights and the holiday music, but it's more about the mood. People seem to be generally nicer and they, perhaps unwittingly, reflect for a moment on how important are the other people in their lives. That's a good thing, whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, something else or nothing at all. We all get so caught up in our work and the politics and other fleeting concerns of the world that we forget what's central and vital. Charles Dickens captured that in this dialogue from A Christmas Carol, arguably my favorite book. Here, Ebenezer Scrooge is confronted by the specter of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, who materializes from another plane of existence to offer Scrooge the opportunity to mend his money-grubbing ways. "'But you were always a good man of business, Jacob,' faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself. "'Business!' cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. 'Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!'" Would that we could all remember that in 2005 and beyond. Second, I'm in love with readers of VORTEX Digest. Thanks for sharing your ideas and thoughts. Thanks for telling me when I'm on the mark and when I've lost my way. It's an honor to serve you. Best wishes for a happy holiday season and for a healthy, prosperous 2005. I'll be back in touch in the New Year. Bye for now. ********************************************************* Tell a Friend ********************************************************* Is there a friend or colleague you'd like to have join the discussions held here at VORTEX Digest? Have them subscribe to receive the weekly Digest at: http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/Changes.aspx ********************************************************* ABOUT VORTEX DIGEST ********************************************************* VORTEX Digest is written weekly by Executive Producer John Gallant and offers an ongoing dialogue on matters raised at The VORTEX Conference, and within the VORTEX Community. VORTEX is an exclusive, invitation-only event for senior executives that brings together all the key elements: leadership, thought, funding, and regulatory expertise, to shape the future of the network business and the technologies that drive it. VORTEX shakes off the hype and helps you understand where you can win new customers, and find new revenue in a time of dramatic and seemingly unpredictable change. ********************************************************* SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION ********************************************************* To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World e-mail newsletters: http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/Changes.aspx To access the VORTEX Digest archives: http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/vortex/index.html To unsubscribe from promotional e-mail: 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. Have editorial comments? Contact John Gallant at mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] For advertising information: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright: Network World, Inc. 2004 ------------------------ This message was sent to: [email protected]
