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Market Roundup February 23, 2006 Cleversafe Announces DSP Foundation Partner Program New EMC Solutions Target Mid-market Best Buy Aims at Small Business Market Employing Microsoft Weapons |
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Cleversafe Announces DSP Foundation Partner Program
Cleversafe, Inc. has announced the launch of the Cleversafe
Dispersed Storage Provider (DSP) Foundation Partner Program, that aims to bring
together multiple hosting and access providers to build what is dubbed a test
global Storage Internet. Members of the Cleversafe DSP Foundation Partner
Program will each contribute storage servers and bandwidth to build a worldwide
test grid of Dispersed Storage. In addition, program members will be directly
involved in the testing, management, and optimization of the test Storage
Internet. The stated goals of the DSP Foundation Partner Program include
identifying initial target applications and uses for Dispersed Storage, and
determining capacity, data integrity, and bandwidth measures for a global
Dispersed Storage grid. The Foundation Partners also aim to comprise the
go-to-market group of DSPs, upon commercial launch.
Eleven hosting providers across North America, South America, Africa, and
Australia have joined the program including EasyStreet Online Services, FiberLink,
Harbour MSP, Hostway, Intercity, OnShore, Pocket iNet, PointClick, Softlayer,
The Planet Internet Services, and ViUX.
One inevitability of storage is
that no matter how much an organization has, it will need more soon. Building
out the data center has been a classic approach to addressing this problem, but
concerns for business continuity have also dictated the need for multiple
storage sites as well as their effective and secure interconnection. For many
organizations, this is a very rational approach; one that offers the
flexibility of multiple storage tiers and a graceful failover mechanism to
deliver business continuity. However, for some organizations, especially those
who would be considered SMB or start up, the capital and human wherewithal to
deploy and operate such a solution often seems beyond reach. For these, the
notion of a secured storage service that is scalable and does not require a
large up-front facility or Cap Ex expenditure could prove intriguing.
The decreased local footprint to support storage is an easy
selling point. However, convincing an organization to trust
that its data will always be available, and secured from attack, when the
storage cannot be seen and touched in the physical realm, will require a little
more effort. The dispersed nature of Cleversafe’s approach whereby
slices as distributed are meaningless by themselves, but contain all necessary
data with a simple majority of the slices, offers a compartmentalized security
approach that would withstand more than a single point of failure or network
congestion. This would seem to address many of the continuity and security
issues that organizations would most likely raise. But the performance
tradeoffs inherent with multiple remote locations would seem to make this
approach more ideal as a replication, backup, or archival tool as opposed to a
realtime production environment or realtime failover implementation. However,
to our way of thinking, this still represents a significant opportunity for
improved efficiency and operational cost.
A well oiled data center is going to have multiple tiers of data storage, and production environments will continuously be honed to maintain the lightest possible footprint to enhance performance and manageability. Effective archiving as well as systematic backup can reduce Tier I storage requirements substantially. While there is undoubtedly more than one point of view as to whether dispersed storage approach would be appropriate for a Tier II solution, for the lowest tier it could provide the necessary functionality but without the deployment and operational costs of an inhouse solution. This is where we believe there is the low-hanging fruit. A successful organization could retire much of its tertiary storage apparatus, focus its future Cap Ex expenditure on Tier I and II storage in house, and convert its archival and backup tier to the utility model, at potentially lower cost, but with the assurance of security and continuity. Further, this continues the philosophical movement afoot that is increasingly viewing all resources, whether they are servers, storage, applications, or whatnot simply as resources that are available on the network to be called upon on demand and in a secured, controlled, and policy-driven fashion. Overall, while Cleversafe dispersed storage is still at the testing stage, we look forward to the commercial availability in the future and will watch to see just how the marketplace responds to what could prove to be a very interesting approach to improve storage efficiency further.
Pickle’s Cameraphone Broadcast Capability: One Step to Our Prediction of a Major Mobile Phone-Driven Privacy Incident
Pickle, a video and photo sharing
service, today unveiled Pickle Channels, allowing users to broadcast media
directly from their mobile phones to virtually any website.
Channels are portable media galleries that can be displayed
anywhere and updated from computers and mobile phones. A users
can simply set up a channel, fill it with videos and photos, and then embed the
entire channel of content on social network profiles, blogs, or any other site.
Each channel has a unique email address allowing family and friends (and
perhaps others) to easily add new items on the fly. With each contribution, the
channel automatically updates everywhere it is posted… instantly. The company
cited a number of examples such as sending shots straight to a blog or MySpace
page from a phone; uploading a whole set of videos that play in a loop, effectively
creating a TV station which can then post anywhere; and in a 21st-century
variation of the disposable camera on every table at special events, the
ability to play a channel in full screen on a big monitor or projector at a
party, bar mitzvah, or wedding and then have guests send their creations to the
screen by emailing to the channel from their phones. Pickle users display their
channels on other websites via the Pickle Channel Player. Pickle also provides
complete control over the privacy and security of each channel. Users can
moderate incoming content as well as select who can view and who can contribute
to each channel. Pickle's player, which appears to represent a significant
advance over existing embeddable video and slideshow, has additional new
features including support for both videos and photos, Full Screen Anywhere—the
ability to play in regular or full-screen mode on any website—and allowing viewers
to add their own content to the channel.
Lest you forget, in our Security
Predictions for 2007 we noted that Photo Abuse such as Internet videos,
whether of the latest movie, violent acts such as the hanging of Saddam
Hussein, or candid shots taken at the workplace, can have almost instant global
exposure. Litigious aggrieved employees and ex-employees may seek damages for
embarrassing videos taken via mobile phone cameras at the workplace, arguing
that employers have the duty to ensure the business nature of the workplace by
publishing and enforcing policies intended to protect their employees.
Sageza believes that organizations have paid too little attention to the potential for misuse of mobile phone cameras in the work place. While there are some high-security organizations such as those within the Defense establishment that have prohibited the carrying of mobile phones into many of their facilities, it would appear that most organizations have not addressed the need for a policy covering the use of these devices at work. While some analysts consider the impending convergence of physical and information security to mean facility access and the like, we believe the cameraphone will emerge as a significant threat to employee privacy and perhaps a great tool to purloin intellectual property since one picture is indeed worth 1,000 (ore more) words. We are already seeing iPods being employed as a device of choice to remove large amounts of intellectual property from organizations; the Pickle announcement is yet one more step closer to our predicted photo abuse.
New EMC Solutions Target Mid-market
EMC has announced several new solutions targeted at
mid-market enterprises seeking to more effectively consolidate, backup,
archive, and protect their information. The new offerings include the EMC
CLARiiON CX3-10 UltraScale networked storage system; new EMC RecoverPoint/SE
software for mid-tier storage environments; and three solutions for mid-market
organizations wishing to consolidate, back up, archive, and protect Microsoft
SQL Server 2005, Microsoft Exchange 2003, and Oracle RAC 10g environments. The
EMC CLARiiON CX3-10 represents a new entry point into 4GB/s networked storage
systems, can scale to 30TB, features Fibre Channel and iSCSI connectivity
within the same array, and supports a mix of Fibre Channel and SATA disk
drives. The new EMC RecoverPoint/SE software is designed for network-based
replication between any two CLARiiON CX and/or CLARiiON CX3 UltraScale systems
in Windows environments. Organizations can define policies to manage their
recovery time objectives across a wide range of key business applications,
including coordinated and consistent recovery of Windows applications such as
Microsoft Exchange and SQL Server. The EMC Reference Architectures and
Assessment Services for Microsoft Exchange 2003, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, and
Oracle RAC 10g provide EMC partners with documented blueprints and best
practices for implementing consolidation, backup, and disaster recovery
solutions for midsize customers. These EMC best practices also address how to
incorporate important Microsoft or Oracle application functionality to complete
the solution. The EMC CLARiiON CX3-10 system, EMC RecoverPoint/SE software, and
the new EMC Reference Architectures and Assessment Services are available immediately.
During this past week there were several storage
announcements, including these from EMC, as well as other small- to mid-market
solutions from Coraid and Fujitsu Siemens. While each
was offering a solution for the SMB space, each one was very different in its
approach and capabilities, and the degree of strategic value offered varied
widely. The CLARiiON CX3-10 is an excellent example of a product that, while
more modest in scale than its larger siblings, still delivers a strategic
solution for an organization that would benefit from a rich palette of storage
functionality and flexibility without necessitating the purchase of what would
be empty spindles. The ability to mix and match iSCSI and Fiber connectivity
along with SATA and FC drives affords flexibility in cost as well as the opportunity
to construct a multi-tiered environment within a single array. The richness of
EMC supporting software such as Navisphere Suite, Navisphere Task Bar, Navisphere QoS Manager, and SAN Copy among others is a key
differentiation the company is increasingly playing to its advantage. Moreover,
this is not just in the high-end market, but also in the other market segments
where plenty of potential customers are to be found.
Another illustration of this is the new RecoverPoint/SE
offering. Mid-market and smaller organizations rarely if ever have the luxury
of storage specialists on call, let alone inhouse. The IT professionals more
often than not are generalists who are conversant in the Microsoft world of
operating systems and procedures. Nevertheless, the value proposition of
consolidate, backup, archive, and protect is very straightforward, even for the
IT generalist. The familiar environment delivered by RecoverPoint/SE is likely
to be well received by said organizations and their IT staff as each endeavor
to meet the needs of their business operations. Further, organizations that are
searching for an upgrade or refresh of their existing storage solution may find
the Reference Architectures and Assessment Services for SQL Server, Exchange,
and RAC 10g improve the whole purchase decision and customer experience. Any
new installation is risk-prone, and SMBs are among the most risk-adverse
customers. Nevertheless, the need for technological reliability remains unabated,
so anything that assuages the fear of IT professionals and their management is
typically a good thing. The tried, tested, and true approach of blue prints and
best practices not only reduce the risk of deployment, but can shorten the time
involved as the business partner and the customer are working from a tested
base of knowledge and technology that was designed from the onset to work
together.
Given the prevalence of SQL Server, Exchange Server, or Oracle RAC 10g in SMBs, we believe the focus on these platforms was a wise move on the part of EMC as it offers its channel partners more armament in their quest to develop the burgeoning SMB opportunity. Overall, we are pleased to see EMC’s continued efforts in delivering rich storage solutions that not only scale to the peaks of the IT mountain, but also deliver cost-effective value to those who may thrive in the lower scale of storage spectrum.
Best Buy Aims at Small Business Market Employing Microsoft Weapons
Microsoft and Best Buy have announced a partnership to meet
the needs of small-business customers who would like to establish a Web
presence but are reluctant to create sites on their own. Best Buy for Business
will enable small businesses to purchase subscription cards for Microsoft
Office Live services—designed to help businesses get online easily and
affordably—at select Best Buy locations, online, and over the phone. Customers
can receive a discount on the Microsoft Office Live monthly subscription fee,
getting three months for the price of one. Best Buy for Business technology
professionals, who are Microsoft- certified, will also work closely with
small-business customers to determine which of the collaboration tools and
solutions best fit their business. The Geek Squad 24-Hour Computer Support Task
Force is available for business- grade technology support and can help
Microsoft Office Live customers hit the ground running. Microsoft Office Live,
available in three editions, is a comprehensive and affordable set of
easy-to-use, Internet-based software and services. The product aims to serve
small businesses with their sales and marketing needs, including Microsoft
Office Live adManager beta, integration with Microsoft Office Accounting
Express 2007 and Microsoft Office Accounting Professional 2007, enhanced Web
design tools and templates, more storage space, additional company-branded
email accounts and calendars, and the ability for customers and colleagues to
use their own company domain name with Windows Live Messenger. Microsoft Office
Live Business Contact Manager, a tool to help small companies manage business
relationships in an organized and effective way, is available now in
subscription-based Microsoft Office Live offerings.
Few could deny that establishing and marketing a business
online is no longer considered a luxury because it appears that consumers are
increasingly turning to the Web to research products and services. According to
Best Buy, most consumers spend nearly fourteen hours a week online; the same
amount of time they spend watching TV. The Microsoft Office Live partnership
appears to have made it easy for small-business owners to create, maintain and market their Web sites.
This partnership and the implication that small-business
owners and others can actually sit down with human beings to deal with setting
up the online aspects of their business rather than wrestle with the
complexities of self-service ecommerce may be more profound that it appears at
first glance. We are reminded of a story told at an early RSA Conference at the
Sofitel Hotel in Redwood City. The speaker, who we
believe was Lynn McNulty, talked about the construction of the U.S. Interstate
Highway System. He postulated that no one could have predicted the effect on
the economy and the growth of jobs to service those highways: gas stations,
hotels, etc. The implication was that it would be difficult to predict the
growth of businesses around the burgeoning Internet economy.
We believe that small-business resistance to online commerce can be overcome with personal, reasonably priced, and highly available support services. Points of purchase like Best Buy, Staples, Office Depot, Wal-Mart and others can offer attractive platforms for these services. In effect the mass retailer and office supply store becomes a VAR for the masses. However, it remains to be seen whether the partnership can attract a critical mass of customers. If it does Sageza believes that others, like those we’ve named above, can be expected to enter the market as well. Overall, we think greater availability of support will lower the dollar commitment small businesses in particular will need to take advantage of their Internet and its potential.