Markets, S. Zaffos, N. Allen, J. Krischer, R. Passmore, R. W Cox Research Note 7 October 2002 External Modular Disk Magic Quadrant: 2H02 Update Vendor consolidation and changes in vendor offerings have altered the modular storage market. This latest version of the modular disk Magic Quadrant shows the impact of these changes on vendor positions. Core Topic Hardware Platforms: Storage Systems Key Issue How will storage systems evolve during the next five years? Since this Magic Quadrant was last updated in June 2002, there have been two significant changes in the modular disk market: Fujitsu Technology Solutions Inc. (FTSI) has ceased to actively market its GR series outside Japan and is once again focusing on reselling EMC storage; and there are now early indications of the impact of the Compaq acquisition on Hewlett-Packard's (HP's) storage marketing and sales. This update (see Figure 1) takes both events into account by deleting FTSI and Compaq from the chart and repositioning the merged HP/Compaq (HPQ). Figure 1 External Modular Disk Magic Quadrant, September 2002 Challengers Leaders Ability to Execute Dell Seagate/XIOtech Sun Dot Hill MTI HPQ* EMC IBM Hitachi/HDS LSI StorageTek As of September 2002 Niche Players Visionaries Completeness of Vision * Hewlett-Packard refers to the combined HP and Compaq brands. Source: Gartner Research Gartner Entire contents 2002 Gartner, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The reader assumes sole responsibility for the selection of these materials to achieve its intended results. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.
Modular Storage vs. Monolithic Storage The following architectural and support differences are used to determine whether a storage system is categorized as a monolithic or modular array. Monolithic arrays: Include support for z/os (formerly known as S/390 or mainframe) platforms Rely on cache hit ratios to deliver throughput and performance Provide more scalability, connectivity, cache and capacity than modular arrays The monolithic form factor, otherwise known as "big-box storage," uses custom packaging that tightly integrates redundant array of independent disks (RAID) controllers and disk drives in a large self-contained, "one size fits all" enclosure. Monolithic storage arrays include: EMC's Symmetrix, Hitachi/Hitachi Data Systems' (HDS's) 9900 series (also sold as the cobranded Sun 9900 series), HP's xp series, IBM's Enterprise Storage Server (ESS), also known as "Shark," and Storage Technology's (StorageTek's) V960 and VX2. Modular arrays: Do not support z/os; support is provided only for Unix (including Linux variants), Windows NT and NetWare Rely heavily on bandwidth, rather than cache, to deliver throughput Have limited scalability and connection flexibility Are defined by the distinct separation of the RAID controller module(s) from the disk drive module(s) Examples of modular arrays include EMC's CX600, HDS's 9200, HPQ's Enterprise Virtual Array (EVA), IBM's Fibre Array Storage Technology (FAStT) and StorageTek's D178. Gartner's Magic Quadrant Methodology Magic Quadrants measure the relative strengths of vendors in specific markets. Effectively, a Magic Quadrant maps a company's current capabilities against its future promises (see Figure 2). Companies are included in the Magic Quadrant based on one or more of the following criteria: the number of clientgenerated inquiries about a company, a company's market 7 October 2002 2
share, or its introduction of a disruptive technology that has the potential to create a rapid shift in market share. Using a Magic Quadrant to ease concerns about a company's long-term financial viability is reasonable. Using one as the sole justification in selecting a particular product or vendor is a misuse of a Magic Quadrant, because Magic Quadrants do not provide a direct measure of product attractiveness or a vendor's support capabilities. Figure 2 Gartner's Magic Quadrant Focus on Tomorrow Challenger Executes well today, may dominate a large segment, but does not understand market direction. Leader Executes well today, well-positioned for tomorrow. Ability to Execute Niche Player Either focuses on a small segment and does it well, or is unfocused and does not outinnovate or outperform others. Visionary Understands where the market is going or has vision of changing market rules, but does not execute well yet. Focus on Today Completeness of Vision Source: Gartner Research A storage vendor's "Ability to Execute" score is determined by the following factors: time to market, marketing effectiveness, sales effectiveness, market credibility, financial stability, installed base, and relationships with independent software vendors and independent hardware vendors. "Completeness of Vision" is a measure of a storage vendor's value-added features, ability to compete on price, availability/reliability, server support, performance, scalability and maintenance. Actual vendor scores are determined by how well a vendor does in each area and how important each factor is in the marketplace. Factors and weights are regularly reviewed for their continued relevance, their importance in the decision-making process, and their ability to explain a product's success in the marketplace. Vendor Announcements Comments on major announcements that have influenced vendors' positions in the modular storage Magic Quadrant follow. 7 October 2002 3
Dell Computer After frequent changes in storage area network (SAN) product strategies, Dell has entered a long-term relationship with EMC that includes cooperation on service and support, development and product strategies. The Dell/EMC portfolio provides Dell with a competitive modular array and software portfolio and extends Dell's capabilities beyond its traditional entry-level Windows NT market into larger, more-complex SAN environments. Dell is also investing in its support infrastructure to gain credibility in enterprise-class environments. Dot Hill Dot Hill's SANnet RAID storage systems are certified as compliant with Level 3 of the Network Equipment Building Systems (NEBS) specification and appear to be competitive on availability, scalability and performance. Call-home functionality is also supported. Point-in-time (PIT) or remote-copy (RC) functionality is provided via software rather than controller microcode. The SANscape management suite provides enterprisewide element management of SANnet systems, SANpath provides path failover and load-balancing capabilities, and SANtrap provides "out-of-band" monitoring. EMC EMC's relationship with Dell promises to fix its CLARiiON distribution problem. This problem was primarily a consequence of the sales force preferring to lead with EMC's flagship Symmetrix product rather than CLARiiON. EMC is continuing to enhance the functionally of the CLARiiON series and has merged engineering organizations to further improve time to market and coordination of development directions. The Dell relationship should also ensure that future CLARiiON models remain pricecompetitive. FTSI (formerly known as Amdahl) In a change of strategy, FTSI has decided to once again concentrate on reselling EMC storage. This change in direction was driven by: scalability and functional limitations, which made price the main attraction of the GR740; prices declining at a rate faster than forecast; and limited marketing and sales resources. Hitachi/HDS The HDS 9200 series is a robust, functionally competitive modular array that has been overshadowed by the HDS 9900 series because of HDS's relationships with HP and Sun 7 October 2002 4
Microsystems. Like the 9900, the 9200 offers PIT and RC functionality, ShadowImage and TrueCopy, and it is managed by Hi-Command. Although HDS has won some major contracts with the 9200, market share gains will require HDS to develop additional indirect channels or dedicate additional sales resources to the product. HPQ HP's acquisition of Compaq has strengthened its position in the Windows/Intel server market, but created morale, organizational and product overlap issues. It has also created some market confusion where overlap exists between HP's Virtual Array (VA) products and Compaq's Enterprise Modular Array (EMA) and EVA systems. On balance, the composite effect of the merger seems to be a slowdown in sales (although brutal competition hasn't helped). Despite this slowdown, the VA series appears to be showing surprising strength, particularly given HPQ's public plan to supersede it eventually with the EVA. This success would appear to reflect aggressive VA pricing, relative to the EVA and competitors' products, and confidence in HPQ's service and support. IBM IBM has increased shipments of its ESS and FAStT modular arrays. This is a significant achievement that highlights the investments IBM has made in distribution and training. FAStT's value-added features include both PIT and RC functionality. IBM's strategic agreements with HDS will speed up time to market for system value-added features and new disks, and provide a unique vision of file- and block-level virtualization. LSI Logic LSI is now shipping controller-based PIT and RC functionality. Its master distributor agreement with StorageTek and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) relationships with a large number of server vendors provide LSI with broad market coverage, low sales costs, and low general and administrative costs. MTI Technology MTI recently launched its Vivant 400 series, which should keep MTI competitive in application environments not requiring controller-based PIT and RC features. Given its limited distribution channels, the challenge for MTI is to grow revenue and maintain profitability in a very price-competitive market. 7 October 2002 5
StorageTek StorageTek's strategic alliance with LSI creates a potential "win/win" situation for both companies. The D series, based on LSI's technology, is a competitive offering that reflects LSI's strength in engineering and manufacturing, and in OEM relationships with server vendors. StorageTek provides global distribution, service and support, and SAN expertise. Sun Sun has announced two integrated SAN storage solutions: the 3900 and 6900 series. These products have simplified the deployment of T3-based solutions in Solaris environments. Sun has also made significant functional enhancements to the T3, including more logical unit number (LUN) support (device images), LUN masking and more initiators, which enable a T3 to support more servers. Gaining credibility as a storage vendor will require Sun to gain market share for non-sun servers and the continued success of a cobranding agreement with HDS. Sun has shipped more than 500 units since signing this agreement. XIOtech/Seagate Technology Acronym Key EMA Enterprise Modular Array ESS Enterprise Storage Server EVA Enterprise Virtual Array FAStT Fibre Array Storage Technology FTSI Fujitsu Technology Solutions Inc. HDS Hitachi Data Systems HP Hewlett-Packard HPQ Hewlett-Packard/Compaq LUN Logical unit number NEBS Network Equipment Building Systems OEM Original equipment manufacturer PIT Point-in-time RAID Redundant array of independent disks RC Remote copy SAN Storage area network VA Virtual Array XIOtech (owned by Seagate) is growing revenue and building its own service organization. Although its Magnitude product was the first to introduce back-end virtualization, it still needs to launch its next-generation series, which will improve scalability and throughput to remain competitive. Bottom Line: The modular disk vendor Magic Quadrant highlights the relative strengths of vendors in the open-system marketplace and is a useful tool for vendor selection and management, but it should not be used as a measure of product attractiveness or a vendor's support capabilities. Financially viable vendors in the Niche Players, Challengers and Visionaries quadrants should not be rejected out of hand in favor of a vendor in the Leaders quadrant, but they should be evaluated on those criteria that matter most: the match between enterprise needs and product characteristics, the vendor's support capabilities and price. 7 October 2002 6