- by Patrick Eitenbichler
Yesterday I noticed a couple of articles in the press re: EMC's proposed acquisition of Iomega -- which has since been rejected by Iomega's board of directors. According to various publications, this acquisition is consistent with EMC's strategy for serving the consumer and small business markets.
This isn't the first time EMC has tried to target their products and solutions at smaller businesses:
- In 2003 EMC tried to sell Windows-powered NAS products to smaller businesses -- but then ceased delivery of the NetWin 110 and 200 boxes two years later and admitted that it had a tough time competing with volume server makers in a low-end NAS market. (See "EMC axes Windows NAS")
- In 2006, then, EMC launched its Insignia line of SMB products, only to shut it down a year later (accompanied by 40 layoffs) -- again because small and medium businesses preferred other vendors' solutions. (See "EMC restructures SMB storage division")
So why would EMC be successful this time around with Iomega? EMC is known for complex, high-end storage systems -- which is not what SMB customers are looking for.
Small and medium businesses want simple, affordable and reliable storage solutions -- such as...
- The HP StorageWorks MSA disk arrays that offer the same management tools as storage inside their ProLiant servers.
- The HP StorageWorks All-in-One Storage System that offers application and file storage with data protection "all in one" -- with an intuitive user interface that only requires 5 clicks to move the data of an entire Exchange server to the All-in-One.
- The HP ProLiant Storage Server offering feature-rich NAS on industry-standard ProLiants.
- The HP StorageWorks D2D Backup System delivering cost-effective, disk-based data protection to smaller businesses.
The list goes on. Simple, affordable and reliable storage solutions -- specifically designed for SMB customers -- something EMC just doesn't offer.
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