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Market Roundup Managing More Kinds of Paper: EMC Document Archive Services for Imaging |
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Managing More Kinds of Paper:
Much ink has been
spilled over the years about the Paperless Office. While some
may foresee a day where the only paper in the office in that which constitutes
the holding tank of a Starbuck’s Grande White Chocolate Mocha Decaf, the
reality for most is that the office is dependent upon paper-based information
for much of its daily operation. The creation of electronic forms has
been a step in the right direction, but there are limitations about where and
how these forms can be accessed and the limited support offered for truly
free-form information capture. Thus, the demise of paper remains a far-flung
notion for most organizations. With this latest offering from
Through its unified
archiving platform and related document management software,
Acquisition of DiskSites Expands Expand Networks
Expand Networks has announced it has signed an agreement to acquire privately held DiskSites, Inc., of Potomac, Maryland, a provider of wide-area file services (WAFS) software that optimizes the delivery of applications to distributed organizations. The DiskSites technology allows organizations to seamlessly manage and deliver both applications and data throughout the extended enterprise, while also lowering the total cost of IT. DiskSites VBranch solutions ensure the availability of applications and data—as well as branch-level services—across the enterprise. Expand Compass is the first WAN application acceleration platform that tightly integrates multiple technologies and maps them to the corresponding business mandates. DiskSites' technology has been integrated into the Expand Compass Platform through an OEM agreement announced in August 2005. Under the terms of the deal, DiskSites shareholders will receive a 13.5% share of Expand Networks when the deal closes, which is expected within sixty days.
There is a well established pattern of business development that applies to almost all sectors of the economy. In IT terms this model frequently takes the shape of: new technology is invented; technology is developed by several vendors, each specializing in niche areas; some vendors grow more successfully than others, enlarge their portfolio of offerings, acquire additional technologies from smaller suppliers; eventually a few, multi-functional vendors come to dominate the market. The Wide Area Optimization market is currently undergoing the consolidation/acquisition phase of this model above. With this in mind, we see this acquisition as a very significant move by Expand Networks and one that could have far-reaching effects in the areas of Wide Area Management, WAN optimization, and the use of WAFS. Expand Networks, through its Expand Compass platform, is now firmly established as a provider of a range of WAN optimization and integrated network management solutions. WANs were never designed to run effectively network protocols created for the much faster, very high-capacity and low-latency LANs that form the backbone of IT environments. When organizations were comfortable hosting IT systems around their many, often geographically dispersed locations this was not a major obstacle. However, the consolidation of servers back into a relatively small number of data centers has left organizations with the need to provide business services to remote locations over WAN communications. WAN optimization and application acceleration systems are taking on an increasingly important role in everyday IT service delivery.
The addition of the DiskSites’ VBranch technologies will add significant capabilities to the solutions offered by Expand Networks. The integration of the solutions should not prove to be an issue as Expand has for some time enjoyed an OEM relationship with DiskSites. It is clear that this development will enable DiskSites to offer the full spectrum of WAN acceleration platforms both in its own appliances and through OEM relationships, both those it already enjoys and those previously established by DiskSites. Perhaps the most interesting effects will become evident as Expand Networks looks not simply to build offerings that meet the requirements of large, global organizations but to also supply mid-tier companies that are geographically dispersed. It will not be a surprise if we see Expand Networks and its OEM partners build new solutions designed for the mid-market, perhaps bringing low cost WAFS solutions to many new customers around the globe.
Sony Makes
The battle for the ears of music lovers is fierce, made more
so by the accompanying battle against digital pirates. The current winner seems
to be Apple, whose iPod has reinvigorated the business, become a fashion icon,
and made legal downloading of music fun. This week, in an apparent bow to
Apple’s strength, Sony has decided to make its music management software
compatible with Apple’s audio file format. In fact, Sony has announced that its
data compression technology would be compatible with a number of formats,
although the inclusion of Apple is regarded as the most significant. The new
policy means that customers who rip their CDs and save it in Apple’s
For the vendors, the war for market share has been largely
dominated by Apple. Although there are those who have religious sentiments
either for or against the iPod, the truth is that they dominate the market, and
it would be better to join them than to struggle against them. In the past,
Sony has owned the market, but has struggled to get its DRM right. Sony
recently angered many users with the root kit issues on selected CDs, requiring
the company to post fixes on the Internet, and the Walkman has not been able to
recapture its past glory. This is not, however, a big surprise, as both Sony
Ericsson mobile phones and the Sony PlayStation Portable support the
At this point, Apple has a vested interest in making sure that songs downloaded from iTunes must be played on iPods. It is a convenience to be able to purchase a single for a reasonable price (in comparison to a CD single) of any piece one wants. The drawback is that one is now required not only to choose a format but then choose a player. CDs in Europe and other parts of the world continue to be ridiculously overpriced, so many will turn to the most cost-effective choice. However, the price for this choice is limitation. With a CD, an owner can play that music on any CD player in any automobile, mobile CD player, or stereo. With iTunes one can only play music on an iPod or on the computer on which iTunes resides. Not the optimal choice in the long term and likely to lead to consumer issues. We believe this announcement is indeed a tactical maneuver for Sony and that the war is far from over.