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System x Changes Riders – What’s In It For Lenovo And IBM?

Announcement Highlights

  • Lenovo to pay IBM $2.3B for its System x business
  • 7.5k staff including Adalio Sanchez will join Lenovo
  • Lenovo will become IBM’s ‘supplier of x86 server technology’
  • Lenovo will resell IBM StorWize storage arrays, GPFS, SmartCloud Entry and some x86 software
  • IBM will retain PureApplication and PureData appliances and the Pure brand
  • The sale will be completed once regulators have had their say, with ‘business as usual’ until then
  • Could make Lenovo the number 4 server player
  • Will improve IBM’s profitability

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IBM/Lenovo System X6 – Huge Memory Extensions In x86 Servers

System X6 Highlights

  • Announces x3850 X6, x3950 X6 and Flex System x880 X6 servers
  • DRAM memory scales to 12TB in the largest 8-way system
  • Modular design point that can allow customers to reduce acquisition cost by up to 28% by selecting only the parts they really need
  • Adds eXFlash memory channel storage giving up to 12.8TB of ultra-low latency storage on a 4-way system
  • Adds resiliency features for huge memories and increased system availability
  • Adds 7 X6 solution editions, including those for HANA, DB2 BLU and Microsoft SQL
  • Stands to gain share as the x86 server market turns to scale-up and in-memory databases in 2014

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Will Cisco’s Application-Centric Infrastructure Win In SDN?

ACI Highlights

  • Has a dominant position in enterprise networks, is growing in the server market
  • Is dependent on up-stream partnerships for storage, virtualisation and applications
  • Launches ACI – differentiated by being an application-driven SDN approach
  • Proposes DevOps teams to improve application lifecycle management
  • Designed for Service Providers and Enterprises
  • The ecosystem includes VCE, EMC, NetApp and even VMware
  • Some users are selecting Cloud or workload-optimised systems avoiding yet another architectural debate

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Server Market Down 4% In Q3 2013 – A Better 2014 In Prospect

Server Market Highlights

  • Revenue declines 4% to $13.4B for the quarter
  • Shipments up 2% to 3.7M
  • 78% of server revenues were for x86-based products
  • Installed Base up 6% to 48.9M
  • For the year to the end of September revenues declined 2% to $56.2B
  • Shipments up 3% to 14.9M
  • HP maintains its lead
  • Dell increases its share – challenges IBM’s 2nd position

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HP Converged Systems – New Business Unit, New Systems

HP ConvergedSystem Highlights

  • Launches ConvergedSystem brand and adjusts the organisation, brand, offerings and features
  • Improves the ordering process
  • Continues to focus on indirect sales
  • Adds OneView secret sauce orchestration software
  • Announces 5 new ConvergedSystems
  • Moves up the CIandIS stack
  • Will need to move rapidly to address 2014 opportunities

HP CIandIS Offerings – December 2013

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Source and Copyright ITCandor/METISfiles, 2013 Read more »

ITCandor 2014 Predictions – Growth At Last

ITCandor Expectations 2014

1. The ITC Market Grows 1.4% To $6.7 Trillion – A Post-Recession Year
2. A Stronger Recovery In Asia Pacific And The Americas Than EMEA
3. Over 20 Country Markets Grow In 2014
4. Gaming, SaaS, Smart Devices And Infrastructure Software Grow – Outsourcing, Fixed Line Telecom And PCs Fall
5. Cloud Computing Grows 6.3% To $1.6 Trillion
6. Business Stronger Than Consumer Demand In 2014
7. All Industry Sectors (But Central Government) Grow
8. Multi-Channel Marketing Takes Over
9. In-Memory Databases Define Big Data Success
10. Integration Drives Supplier And Product Strategies

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For a pdf copy of our predictions, click here
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What’s The Beef About In-Memory Databases?

In-Memory Highlights

  • Faster databases improve business
  • In-memory databases help support near real-time processes
  • Choices include
    • TP monitor v relational database
    • SQL v noSQL programming
    • Column v Row axes
    • Scale up, scale out or massively parallel appliance hardware
  • Workloads are typically OLTP, OLAP and tied-application
  • SAP HANA, IBM DB2 BLU, Oracle 12g, Windows SQL Server 2014 all have in-memory aspects

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Actifio – Managing The Scary Growth Of Copy Data

Actifio Highlights

  • Boston-based storage software company specialising in the management of copy data
  • Copy Data Management provides instant data access for a host of enterprise use cases including data protection, business continuity, dev/test, data insights, and active archive
  • Version 6.0 enhances features for Cloud Service Providers, automated dev/test data management, mobile management and integration with many Enterprise applications
  • A strong set of initial customers
  • 130 resellers with users in 22 countries
  • Virtualizing data silos, as Vmware does for virtualized servers
  • Has to make its disruptive technology fit with conservative Enterprise data centres

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Zadara – A Cloud Approach For The Storage You Already Have

Zadara Highlights

  • A privately owned storage company with funds from venture capital and Toshiba
  • Nelson Nahum and team have lots of experience, including StorAge (acquired by LSI)
  • VPSA delivers SAN and NAS
  • Partners include eircom, KVH, Dimesion Data and CloudSigma
  • Offers a pay-as-you-co Cloud approach for the storage you already have

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Emulex – A Strategy For Great IT Migrations

Emulex Highlights

  • Introduces Gen 5 FC Flash Services technology products running at 16GFC
    • CrossLink addresses the growth of East/West traffic with the use of vMotion
    • ExpressLane helps with QoS and prioritisation of flash in hybrid storage solutions
  • Identifies numerous types of IT migration to illustrate current market change
  • Has a simple strategy – Connect, Monitor, Manage
  • As a specialist NOC supplier strong OEM allies in IBM, HP and EMC

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Basho Launches Riak 2.0 – Disruptive Distributed Databases

Basho Highlights

  • Riak is Open Source noSQL distributed database and S3-compliant storage software
  • Basho makes money from Enterprise software versions and services
  • Customers include Comcast, BestBuy, AT&T and the UK NHS
  • Seagate has built Riak compatibility into its Kinetic Open Storage platform
  • Version 2.0 includes security, structured data and search functions
  • NoSQL, Column Store and MPP database techniques have different pros and cons
  • The rise of disruptive scale-out databases coincides with a new focus on scale-up in-memory databases
lizzie hingley

Lizzie Hingley Art

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Michael Dell – I Bought The Company Back

Dell Strategy Highlights

  • Provides a clear, concise overview of the strategy, businesses and priorities following privatisation
  • His strategy focuses ‘transform, connect, inform, protect’ themes
  • His businesses are end-user computing, enterprise, software and services
  • ‘We’re now a family-run business again’, ‘The PC is not dead’, ‘I bought the company back’
  • No longer needed the stock market for investment, or wanted to continue to focus on short-term issues

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Hitachi Data Systems – Beyond Unified, Virtualised And Flash

HDS Highlights

  • The ‘One Hitachi’ will globalise a mix of industrial and IT businesses
  • HDS has strong Unified, Virtualised and Flash Storage
  • It is a good server player with UCP Integrated Systems and SMP x86 servers
  • Is acquiring new customers through Managed Service Solutions
  • Uses its industrial heritage to match Big Data to The Internet of Things
  • Needs to make more noise through marketing

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Spectra Logic Announces BlackPearl – Tape Archiving For The Internet Generation

Spectra Logic Highlights

  • Announces BlackPearl – a deep storage appliance sitting between clients and tape libraries allowing a RESTful interface
  • Expands the use of Amazon’s S3 language with its DS3 bulk commands
  • Claims significantly lower costs with tape libraries (versus long term disk storage)
  • Wins endorsement from Yahoo!, NASCAR, axle Video and EVC
  • Makes tape archiving relevant for the Internet generation

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IBM Adds SoftLayer To SCE Cloud Services

IBM Cloud Services Highlights

  • Adds Internet-centric ‘Cloud native’ SoftLayer to existing SmartCloud Enterprise ‘Cloud enabled’ services
  • Including SoftLayer, has 22 Cloud service data centres in all regions of the globe
  • Launches SAP and Oracle SmartCloud+ services
  • Readies OpenStack-based BlueMix platform for LoB developers for 2014 launch
  • Customers Bison maxess and Monitise attest to the advantages of partnering in cutting down deployment time and supporting international expansion
  • We estimate it will make over $2B Cloud revenues in 2013
  • Expands the choices users have in how to run IT far beyond the ‘build or buy’ decisions of traditional outsourcing

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Celebrating 30 Years!

It’s all gone past so fast and it’s been lots of fun – I just celebrated 30 years since I joined Tom Bachman’s Inteco as a fresh-faced 20-something in September 1983.

I’ve put a few pictures together below. They’re from my many happy years at IDC and here at ITCandor. Hope you enjoy them!

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Group Bull President Jean-Marie Decarpentries, Jane Dorley and me

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Speaking for HP at the end of the 1990s

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IDC France and friends in 1990

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Meeting the All Blacks – thanks to Unisys

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Paxman and Hingley in the early 2000s

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The ‘go to’ analyst for server stories back in 1999

Nokia Phones Drive Microsoft’s Reinvention

Announcement Highlights

  • Nokia’s revenues and market share has suffered badly in competition with Apple and Samsung
  • Microsoft agrees to buy Nokia’s mobile device division for $7.2B – too cheap in our view
  • Included are 32k staff and the right to use associated patents for 10 years
  • Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop will rejoin Microsoft to head up the new division
  • Nokia NSN will continue as a network supplier to Service Providers
  • Adding devices and services to its software business is part of Microsoft’s reinvention strategy

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Server Markets Drop Just 3% In Q2 2013

Server Highlights

  • The market fell 3% to $13.4B in the quarter and by 2% to $56.9B in the year to the end of June
  • HP was the leader with a 22.0% share for the year from its $12.5B revenue
  • IBM was in second with 18.8% from $10.7B
  • Dell overtook IBM in the quarter, but remains behind IBM on an annual basis achieving a 16.5% share from $9.4B revenues
  • There were 3.6M shipments in the quarter and 14.6M in the year
  • The installed base reached 44.9M
  • Virtualised servers grew 11% to $6.2B, while physical-only machines decline 13% to $7.2B
  • 36% of the $10.4B spent on x86 servers was for virtualised machines
  • VMware hypervisors accounted for 63.6% of x86 hypervisor revenues

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