We’ve started to see the consolidation of storage vendors as some startups and long-term players in the market get acquired. Is the reason for this buying spree one of positive growth, or a defensive position to maintain survival? Chris and Martin discuss the issues and the vendors doing the buying.

Who’s been buying? Violin Systems acquired part of X-IO (specifically the ICE) products as that company changed focus to their edge device (Axellio). DDN acquired Tintri and Nexenta. StorCentric, founded from Drobo and Nexsan has acquired Retrospect and Vexata.

Are we seeing a move to a new style of holding company? Maybe these vendors are keeping assets warm, either as part of OEM agreements or for future acquisition.

Elapsed Time: 00:34;14

Timeline

* 00:00:00 – Intros 00:01:28 – Vendor acquisitions – there’s a lot of them!* 00:02:09 – Why are acquisitions happening? * 00:04:20 – Violin Systems acquires (part of) X-IO * 00:08:53 – DDN – Tintri, Nexenta * 00:13:50 – StorCentric – Drobo, Nexsan, Retrospect and… Vexata? * 00:18:16 – Building a portfolio or standalone products * 00:20:45 – Or perhaps a new style of VC? * 00:24:09 – Are we in a storage consolidation phase? * 00:26:05 – What is the long-term strategy for these companies? * 00:30:47 – Are there any really bad products? Or just unlucky? * 00:32:47 – Wrap Up

Related Podcasts & Blogs

* #64 – Success & Failure in Storage Startup Land* Garbage Collection – All-flash Market Consolidation

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