But an AWS new gateway won’t kill the independent gateway market near term – this beta version is really basic and does not have much in terms of bells and whistles – it is much less feature-rich than the initial implementations from the existing independent gateway vendors (CTERA, Nasuni, Panzura, Riverbed, StorSimple, Twinstrata, and I probably missed some), and those vendors have not stood still. There is no deduplication (but there is compression) – depending on how compressible the data set is, without deduplication the AWS capacity and data transfer service charges could lead to some pretty big fees on the storage services side depending on the nature and use of the data. Uploading data (data transfer IN) is free, but retrieving data (data transfer out) costs $$, so a restore of any size or frequent restores could add up. This is a pure backup and DR play for now rather than a local cache for primary data in the cloud, but AWS is expected to expand functionality and use cases over time.

It is interesting to note that there is also no hardware node–not surprising, but interesting, and a possible challenge. The AWS gateway runs in a VMware virtual machine and uses local disk capacity. While some may consider this a good thing, experience has taught gateway providers like TwinStrata that sometimes you need to sell an appliance that can be dropped into the data center and dedicated to being the gateway – you often get better performance and have no worries about resource contention or workload management. Plus – there is the mentality that storage buyers want to touch and feel something – pure cloud is still a tough sell in the enterprise.

And I hate to use the term “vendor lock in” because at some level everyone is locked into someone, but the independent gateway providers do provide users an option of transparently migrating data to a different service provider if their current provider does something like change the pricing model or SLA. Just think about what happened when Iron Mountain decided to get out of the storage services business (not that I think this will happen at AWS, but pricing model tweaks are certainly a possibility). Nasuni went out and proactively migrated their customers under the covers to their new service provider of choice. By the time the IM news was public, Nasuni had done a ton of migration work. While not an “apples-to-apples” comparison, it is illustrative of what is possible when using an independent.

The initial target use cases for AWS are dead on though – of the current cloud storage users we surveyed in our spending intentions research, the biggest use cases for them are backup (a whopping 67% are using cloud storage for backup), followed by DR (58%) and Archive (58%). And that certainly reflects where some of the independent gateway vendors like Riverbed are finding a niche, so this will increase pressure on them.

Looking a little deeper – this is really a brilliant move by AWS, not because they have a gateway for cloud storage use, though. It is because these snapshots are stored as Elastic Block Storage (EBS) snapshots. This means they can be used to create EBS volumes and run against applications in EC2. Test and dev operations can now be run against production snapshots in EC2. And over time, users can just migrate applications into the cloud – after all, the data migration will already be done for them. Once you do test and dev and get comfortable, the leaps to running tier 2 applications, then tier 1, become smaller – just ask VMware. At the end of the day I don’t think Amazon is really interested in being a gateway so some of your data can be stored in the cloud – I believe that they want all of your data, and compute, in the cloud. And it may take years, but this is the gateway to that.

You can read Terri’s other blog entries at IT Depends.

Nirvanix had some pretty impressive wins in 2011, and has done a good job getting its customers to go public.  It has been roughly a year since the new management took over, and their diversification strategy seems to be working.  Nirvanix sells both software and storage services.  Notable wins in 2011 include:

• Relativity Media–next gen studio behind hits like “Immortals” and “Limitless”; will leverage NVX public cloud for content collaboration to bring movies to completion faster.
• NBC Universal is deploying 2+ Petabytes (videos, photos, movies; leveraging Nirvanix public cloud for content archival and collaboration).
• Advocate Healthcare has 500TB (healthcare content files; NVX public cloud).
• USC deployed 8.5 Petabytes (Videos, Photos; USC will also resell NVX Private Cloud as the USC Digital Repository).
• Cerner Healthcare for 2+ Petabytes (for PACs, radiology, clinical systems, patient records; Cerner will also resell NVX Private Cloud as Cerner Skybox Public Cloud).
• IBM is deploying a Multi-Petabyte Global Private Cloud; NVX is essentially building a replica of its Cloud Storage Network for IBM to sell as its own public cloud–IBM SmartCloud Enterprise.
• DRFortress is offering an onsite physical node federated with Nirvanix public cloud, providing its customers with a hybrid cloud storage deployment.

The first three are true public cloud users that are leveraging Nirvanix to accelerate business (because, as Steve D. mentioned in his blog last month, doing all the storage stuff yourself stinks, or something to that effect).  But the rest are resellers as well as users.  Now, this is a pretty impressive list – names we know and love.

I’ve actually talked to a few of the resellers and there seems to be strong momentum in the channel.  I don’t think it would be too risky to say that the strategy Nirvanix management laid out a year ago and has been executing against since is paying off for them.  Granted, Nirvanix adoption is only a microcosm in the larger cloud universe – but it is proving that the business model can work and there is money in IaaS.  Rumors of Nirvanix’s demise were swirling a mere 18 months ago, rumors which the new team seems to have silenced.

Looking forward to 2012, it would not be surprising to see Nirvanix gobbled up by a bigger player who can leverage the current cloud delivery network infrastructure, cloud software, and hybrid cloud model to offer both public and virtual private cloud services.  There are a lot of variables – a lot depends on the economy, and it is sure to be a shaky year because of the elections.  But Nirvanix is one I will be keeping an eye on.

You can read Terri’s other blog entries at IT Depends.

I couldn’t be more excited to be speaking at the inaugural CITE event. I am thankful to the conference panel for selecting me as a speaker. Hope to see you there!

You can read Terri’s other blog entries at IT Depends.

It is a really exciting time to be looking at this space. I am a bit embarrassed (a trend in my blogs lately) to admit that I have 5 endpoint devices that I use for assorted tasks that are work related: an android phone, an android tablet, an iPad, a laptop, and a desktop. Someday I will settle on which tablet I like better – but for now this is my reality. The ability to access the latest, consistent version of my work documents from any of these devices is invaluable for me – all of our research data points are at my fingertips wherever I am. All of my notes from all of my meetings – right there, no matter what device is in front of me. Okay – I am probably atypical, but still – how many users have a smartphone and laptop? Or a smartphone, laptop and tablet? That is much more typical – and it is driving changes in IT storage strategies.

I was initially skeptical about enterprise adoption of these solutions – the most well known are well known because of consumer use, not business use. However the “bring your own device” (BYOD) trend along with users having multiple endpoint devices is one driver for IT to look at solutions that support these devices, and of the companies we’ve spoken to that have BYOD policies, many (83% according to our research) allow employees to use their devices for both work and personal use. That explains why perhaps the bigger driver is end-user demand – an awful lot of IT’s customers are deploying these solutions without waiting for permission, and IT is being pulled into looking at and endorsing a corporate-wide solution that will provide the manageability, security, and control they need to protect corporate information assets.

I’ve spoken to a number of companies that have adopted these solutions, from web-based businesses to some well known large companies known for a conservative approach to IT, and I am no longer skeptical. They tell similar stories – the big drivers are end-user demand for these solutions, endpoint device support, unleashing the shackles of using a VPN for shared file access, collaboration, and supporting a mobile workforce. And when I ask whether they are augmenting existing storage solutions or replacing, I consistently hear that they are replacing file servers – either Windows or LINUX-based or dedicated NAS systems. Consumerization is indeed changing storage strategies within some enterprise IT shops and driving adoption of these solutions.

We will be increasing our coverage in this area in the coming year – this report is really to set the baseline for our future work. It is only available to premium subscribers – but contact us if you are not a premium subscriber and interested.

You can read Terri’s other blog entries at IT Depends.

The trend toward “consumerization” marches onward in IT; more and more end-users are choosing their own hardware platforms and software applications in lieu of the IT-sanctioned business tools provided by their companies. These end-users are looking to tackle issues like data sharing, portability, and access from multiple intelligent endpoint devices, creating a conundrum for IT as it needs to balance business enablement, ease of access, and collaborative capacity with the need to maintain control and security of information assets.

This report looks at SaaS offerings focused on sharing and collaboration and purposely excludes those services focused primarily on data protection and backup.

“Consumerization and mobility are driving a growing need for online file sharing and collaboration solutions,” said Terri McClure, senior analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group. “IT needs to address security and control up front to better enable the mobile workforce. Solutions like Syncplicity, that meet the combination of IT requirements for centralized administration and security with end user requirements for ease of access and use are well positioned to truly enable IT to offer its user base a secure mobility solution. IT would be well served to get in front of this trend proactively rather than waiting to get dragged in once its users have made their own personal bets on preferred services.”

via Syncplicity debuts security and compliance console.

via Syncplicity Launches Security and Compliance Console | Virtual-Strategy Magazine.

First, he may be worth a gazillion dollars but he just comes across as a regular guy.  He is not surrounded by a posse of security guards, no handlers directing him to the “right” people to say hello to or policing his every word.  He really seems to be a man of the people, accessible and approachable, attending all the social gatherings.  At the conference he actually sat through all the keynotes and it seemed as if he considered everyone, from the speakers to the attendees, as his personal guests.

And just look at his accomplishments.  We all know the story–he built the company he started in a dorm room selling cheap storage capacity and built it into one of the largest PC companies in the world.  Over the past decade he’s diversified Dell’s offerings, mostly via acquisition, and built an extensive portfolio.  Dell has services (Perot), systems management (KACE), storage (EqualLogic and Compellent), networking (Force10), security (Secureworks) – and I am probably missing a few areas, Michael had quite an impressive acquisitions list slide in his keynote!  This all goes along with organically developed technology – an extensive server line.  Dell the PC company has become Dell the IT solutions company.

Interestingly enough, his humility seems to permeate the company. In fact, as my colleague Mark Peters astutely stated, other companies make lots of claims they can’t deliver against, while Dell delivers but doesn’t tell anyone. Every hero has a fatal flaw, and this could be his. Dell (the company) is poised on the brink. It was evident at the Dell World conference they are evolving to a solutions play–Dell talked it up, but telling an audience of a couple of thousand people doesn’t cut it. Neither does one-off press releases. Dell needs to look at its marketing investments and up the volume with sustained campaigns and beat their chests a bit. It is the same play they executed in the PC market, it just needs to be solutions-based.

And while Michael Dell has his detractors, he has really invested in giving back to those less fortunate.  He and his wife established the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation back in 1999, which focuses on “Transforming the lives of children living in urban poverty through better health and education.” Since then the foundation has committed more than $700 million to children’s causes in the US, India, and South Africa.  I was unaware of the foundation until I heard about it from Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce.com, in his Dell World keynote.  Marc talked about how inspired he is by Michael Dell’s charitable work and how much he aspires to emulate that.  Of course the Benioff talk only fueled my crush even more!

So if the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, take this as my first step, a public pronouncement.  I promise not to let my geek-crush color my research or influence my writings.  But I will take a moment to bask in the good fortune I have in being in a job that gives me an opportunity to meet industry luminaries from leading tech companies and feeding my geeky hero-worshiping high.

You can read Terri’s other blog entries at IT Depends.

via Enterprise Strategy Group Brief Recognizes Nexsan E-5000 NAS System for Solid Foundation and Robust Feature Set.

McClure said the Atmos storage cloud is used by 30 service providers in 50 locations. She considers that impressive, especially compared to competitors such as Cleversafe, DataDirect Networks and Scality that sell software to cloud providers. “As you go down the list of cloud providers, you would be hard-pressed to find some that have 50 sites,” she said.

via EMC upgrades Atmos Cloud Delivery Platform to a vApp.