episode 107: #107 – Should IBM Quit the Storage Hardware Business?
IDC recently released their latest quarterly storage sales figures. The data shows, yet again, that IBM sales continue to decline. In this week’s podcast, Chris and Martin discuss the state of IBM’s storage business. Is it time for IBM to quit?
IBM has an embarrassment of riches in storage software and hardware (or a nice portfolio as Martin puts it). Many of these solutions have evolved from other technology, like SVC and XIV. With the acquisition of Red Hat, IBM customers will have even more storage choice. Does this mean more flexibility or confusion?
Re-using technology is not a bad thing (although it’s worth checking out the wiring in the image of the A9000 on this post. However, with so many competing solutions, IBM could be in danger of confusing customers and failing to capitalise on the opportunities of integration with other platforms.
For more details on the latest IDC figures, see this post. The graph showing IBM sales is included here for reference.
Elapsed Time: 00:26:48
Timeline
* 00:00:00 – Intros
* 00:00:50 – IDC storage data shows IBM in revenue decline
* 00:02:30 – Is IBM moving or losing their storage customers?
* 00:04:00 – What is IBM’s storage portfolio?
* 00:06:02 – What could be rationalised in the portfolio? DS8000?
* 00:08:49 – Does IBM have an issue with the marketing message?
* 00:10:00 – Could IBM have moved a lot of revenue to SDS?
* 00:12:30 – ESS back from the dead!
* 00:13:20 – But Red Hat (an IBM company) also has storage products!
* 00:16:54 – Spectrum Scale supports containers – who knew?
* 00:18:20 – Frictionless adoption – is that a problem for IBM?
* 00:20:20 – Is the storage hardware sales metric still fit for purpose?
* 00:21:30 – What do we recommend for IBM?
* 00:24:00 – Simplify! Oh and don’t forget about tape.
* 00;25:00 – A “capacity under licence” measure would be better.
* 00:26:00 – Wrap Up
Related Podcasts & Blogs
* IDC 1Q2019 storage data shows a tough market for appliance vendors
* #43 – All-flash Market Review 2018 with Chris Mellor
* IBM Buys Red Hat
* IBM Reuses Existing Tech in Latest FlashSystem Release
Copyright (c) 2016-2019 Storage Unpacked. No reproduction or re-use without permission. Podcast Episode 12B0.