Data Infrastructure IT Industry Related Resource Links A to E

Data Infrastructure IT Industry Related Resource Links A to E

IT Data Center and Data Infrastructure Industry Resources

Updated 2/20/2018

Following are some useful Data Infrastructure IT Industry Resource Links A to E to cloud, virtual and traditional IT data infrastructure related web sites. The data infrastructure environment (servers, storage, IO and networking, hardware, software, services, virtual, container and cloud) is rapidly changing. You may encounter a missing URL, or a URL that has changed. This list is updated on a regular basis to reflect changes (additions, changes, and retirement).

Disclaimer and note: URL’s submitted for inclusion on this site will be reviewed for consideration and to be in generally accepted good taste in regards to the theme of this site.

Best effort has been made to validate and verify the data infrastructure URLs that appear on this page and web site however they are subject to change. The author and/or maintainer(s) of this page and web site make no endorsement to and assume no responsibility for the URLs and their content that are listed on this page.

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Send an email note to info at storageio dot com that includes company name, URL, contact name, title and phone number along with a brief 40 character description to be considered for addition to the above data infrastructure list, or, to be removed. Note that Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC (e.g. StorageIO) does not sell, trade, barter, borrow or share your contact information per our Privacy and Disclosure policy. View related data infrastructure Server StorageIO content here, and signup for our free newsletter here.

Links A-E
Links F-J
Links K-O
Links P-T
Links U-Z
Other Links

  • A3Cube    Computer I/O solution startup
  • AAPT   AAPT    AWS connect partner, Hosting/cloud/access services
  • abiquo.com    Cloud development and management tools
  • Above.net/Zayo Group    AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
  • abrevity.com    eDiscovery, search, indexing, classification
  • accellion.com    File transfer tools
  • accessopt.com    Holographic storage
  • acinion.com    Video solutions
  • acopia.com    NAS aggregation and global name space (bought by F5)
  • acronis.com    Backup and data protection tools
  • acsacs.com    Value added reseller (VAR)
  • acs-inc.com    Hosting, outsourcing and managed services (Bought by Xerox)
  • actifio.com    Data protection solutions
  • active-circle.com    Data archiving and storage solutions
  • activestate.com    Stackato PaaS for cloud tools
  • adaptec.com    Adapters, iSCSI storage, data backup solutions (See PMC)
  • adesto.com    CBRAM startup
  • addonics.com    SSD storage solutions
  • adic.com    Backup, Dedupe and data protection solutions (Bought by Quantum)
  • adinfa.com        Energy and resource management tools
  • AdRem Netcrunch        Monitoring of Networks, Systems and Applications, DCIM
  • Adtran    Datacom and networking solutions
  • advancedvault.com    Business continuity solutions
  • advaoptical.com    Optical networking
  • afcom.com    Data center industry user group
  • aforesolutions.com    Cloud storage and infrasture management tools
  • agami.com    High performance NAS storage (Shutdown)
  • agilent.com    Host adapters and test equipment
  • agility.com    Optical solutions and components
  • agilysys.com    VAR
  • aiim.com    Archiving and records management trade group
  • ait.com    Cloud and web hosting
  • Ajubeo    Cloud and management solutions
  • akamai.com    Content distribution network (CDN)
  • akitio.com    Storage systems
  • akorri.com    Storage resource and capacity management
  • alacritech.com    Storage networking adapters for iSCSI
  • alacritus.com    Data Protection Software
  • alcatel.com    Networking and storage networking equipment
  • alliance-it.com    Value added reseller (VAR)
  • allstorage.nl    Storage services solution provider
  • amazon.com    Cloud compute and storage services
  • AmberPoint.com    SOA management tools
  • amcc.com    Storage networking components (aka JNI & 3ware Bought by LSI)
  • amd.com    Server and processor chips
  • americanfibersystems.com    Metropolitan storage networks and fiber bandwidth
  • amphenol.com    Storage Networking connectors and cables
  • Amplidata.com    Object and wide area based storage
  • ancot.com    Storage networking testing equipment
  • anixter.com    Networking components
  • Anobit.com    Memory components
  • ansi.org    American National Standards Institute
  • Anstor64.com    iSCSI storage software
  • anuesystems.com    SONET’/SDH and network test equipment
  • apc.com    Environmental and power systems and DCIM solutoins
  • apcon.com    Physical cabling and management
  • aperture.com    Data center tools including CMDB (Bought by Emerson)
  • appassue.com    SQL server and data protection tools (Bought by Dell)
  • Appcore    Cloud management tools
  • Appfirst    IT Ops, Development and DCIM monitoring and PKI metrics
  • appiq.com    Storage Management Software (Bought by HP)
  • appirio.com    Cloud and content tools and services
  • apple.com    Server and storage
  • apprenda.com    Grid and data management tools
  • Apprenda   Platform as a service tools
  • aprius.com    PCIe Server I/O virtualization (IOV) technology
  • aptare.com    Data protection management and backup reporting
  • arasan.com    IP Networking components
  • Archivas.com    Archiving and data management software (Bought by HDS)
  • arcmail.com    Email archiving
  • Arcplace    Data management archiving
  • arcsight.com    Compliance solutions
  • argent.com    Data center management and CMDB tools
  • ariodata.com    Scalable data storage and blade storage systems
  • aristanetworks.com    Networking technologies
  • aristoslogic.com    Storage controller technology (Bought by Adaptec)
  • Arkeia.com    Backup and data protection software (Bought by WD)
  • arkivio.com    Storage management and ILM software
  • arm.com    Microprocessor producer
  • armor247.com    SMB focused data protection solutions
  • arrow.com    Distributor
  • arsenaldigital.com    Managed backup service (Bought by IBM)
  • arxscan.com    SRM and file reporting software
  • asankya.com    Application delivery and cloud access
  • asciitable.com    Site containing the ASCII character set table
  • ashare.org    HVAC Engineers Association
  • asigra.com    Backup and data protection solutions
  • asnp.org    Association Storage Networking Professionals
  • asperasoft.com    High speed file and data transfer tools
  • astaro.com    Security tools
  • astutenetworks.com    iSCSI storage optimized for VMware
  • atempo.com    Backup Software
  • Atlantic Metro Communications    AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
  • Atlantiscomputing    ILIO VDI and I/O optimization, cache tools
  • atmforum.com    ATM trade association
  • atrato.com    Storage systems
  • attachmate.com    IT management tools (bought Novell)
  • attotech.com    Storage networking adapters and gateways
  • Attunesystems.com    NAS and file virtualization (Assets bought by F5)
  • attunity.com    File and data movement tools
  • autonomy.com    Data management and cloud services (Bought by HP) –
  • autovirt.com    Storage automation tiering tools
  • avagotech.com    Semiconductor technologies
  • availl.com    Data movement and replication solutions
  • avamar.com    Dedupe, Backup and Restoration Solutions (Bought by EMC)
  • avanade.com    Var
  • avaya.com    Networking and communications
  • averesystems.com    NAS caching and automated tiering
  • avg.com    Security and anti-virus software
  • avnet.com    Distributor
  • www.avocent.com    Infrastructure resource management tools
  • axcient.com    Cloud data protection solutions
  • axiossystems.com    IRM and service management tools
  • axsone.com    Records and document management
  • axxana.com    Data protection and replication tools
  • Backblaze    Online and cloud backup storage
  • BackupAssist    Backup and Recovery software
  • backupify.com    Backup for google apps
  • BUMI    Backup and data protection tools
  • backupright.com    Online and cloud backup
  • Backula    Opensource Backup and data protection
  • bakbone.com    Backup Software (Bought by Quest bought by Dell)
  • balesio.com    File compression solutions
  • barracudanetworks.com    Networking devices, backup software
  • basho.com    NOSQL Database and object storage technology –
  • batblue.com    Cloud, application delivery networking services
  • Bestel   Bestel    AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
  • Beyondtust    Vulnerability assessment and detection
  • bigswitch.com    Openflow based network switches
  • BitArmor.com    Data security software
  • bitcasa.com    Cloud storage and backup
  • Bitcentral    Video management solutions
  • Bitmicro    Solid state devices and other solutions
  • Blackbox    Data center infrastructure, DCIM, KVM and other solutions
  • BlackMESH    FedRAMP and DevOPs hosting
  • blade.org    Trade group for blade servers
  • bladelogic.com    Server management and discovery software
  • BladeNetwork.net    Server and storage blades (Bought by IBM)
  • Bladeroom    Data center and hosting
  • bladesystems.org    Industry trade group for blade servers and storage
  • bladetechnologies.net    Networking technologies
  • blockbridge.com    Elastic Storage Software and Tools
  • bluearc.com    High performance NAS enterprise class storage (Bought by HDS)
  • bluecoat.com    WAN optimization
  • bluecorenetworks.com    Networking infrastructure solutions
  • Bluehost    Web hosting, dedicated and virtual private servers
  • bluelock.com    Hosting, managed service and cloud provider
  • BlueOSS    Cloud and business inteligence solutions
  • www.bluestripe.com     Software for managing virtual data centers
  • bmc.com    Storage management software
  • bocada.com    Backup and management software
  • bowindustries.com    Tape media cleaning tools
  • box.net    Internet/web/cloud storage services
  • bphx.com    Legacy application transformation
  • bridgestor.com    Data reduction and storage optimization
  • Bridghead.com    Storage management software
  • broadband.com    Portal site for finding network bandwidth services
  • broadbandreports.com    Portal site for finding high speed internet access
  • broadcom.com    Storage networking component supplier
  • brocade.com    Switches, WAN gateways, software
  • brouwerconsultancy.com    Storage consultancy service
  • bswd.com    Brian Berg’s Storage Cornucopia web site
  • btiphotonics.com    WDM and Optical networking technologies
  • buffalotech.com    SMB and SOHO NAS storage
  • bustech.com    IBM Mainframe to open systems gateways (Bought by EMC)
  • bycast.com    Grid based fixed content, archive and object storage (Bought by NetApp)
  • c2c.com    Email archiving solutions
  • c2esoft.com    Data center operations and insight management tools
  • ca.com    Data management software
  • Computer Associates    Various data center, DCIM, data protection and other solution tools
  • call-recall.com    Optical storage
  • Canonical   Ubuntu Linux
  • carbonite.com    Cloud storage and backup
  • caringo.com    CAS archiving and object storage tools
  • casecentral.com    Cloud ediscovery
  • cassandra.apache.org    Data management and database alternative software
  • Apache Cassandra    NOSql Data Management tools
  • cassat.com    IRM management tools (Bought by CA)
  • Catalogic Software    Data protection and management tools
  • cataphora.com    Data management tools
  • catbird.com    VM security tools
  • caviumnetworks.com    Networking processors and chip technologies
  • cdproject.net    Carbon Disclosure Project
  • cdrive.com    VAR
  • cdw.com    VAR
  • celion.com    Network services for storage over distance
  • celona.com    Data migration tools
  • cemaphore.com    Messaging solutions
  • centos.org    Cluster Storage
  • centrepath.com    Storage management solutions (formerly Giant Loop)
  • centrify.com    Digital rights management for cloud, virtual, server, desktop and storage
  • Tier3/CenturyLink   Cloud, hosting and managed services
  • Centurylinkg/Savvis    Cloud and hosting solutions
  • Ceph   Cloud and object storage solutions
  • cert.org    Internet Security information
  • certesnetworks.com    Cloud security tools
  • certon.com    VAR
  • CFN Services    AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
  • chelsio.com    High speed Ethernet adapters
  • chicorporation.com    Data protection, cloud and storage VAR
  • ciena.com    Optical networking
  • Cinenet    AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
  • ciphermax.com    Data Storage Encryption Tools
  • cipheroptics.com    Storage networking security
  • ciprico.com    Storage systems (Bought by DotHill)
  • cirrustore.com    Backup data protection tools
  • cirtas.com    Cloud Storage Appliance – Added 6/9/10
  • cisco.com    Switches, WAN and Optical networking
  • Citrix.com    Virtualization solutions
  • ClearDB.com/.com    Local and distributed (GEO) MySQL database software and service
  • clearpace.com/.com    Large scale archive and data management tools
  • CleverSafe.com    Distributed object/esrasure storage
  • climatesaverscomputing.com    Green computing industry trade group
  • Clonix   Data cloning, duplication and protection tools
  • CloudByte   Scale-out and cloud storage
  • cloudera.com    Hadoop data storage and analytics tools
  • CloudFlare   CDN and Web Cache solutions
  • cloudfuzion.com    High performance servers
  • Cloudian   Cloud and object storage tools
  • Cloudphysics   Big data and virtualization tools
  • cloudreplica.com    Cloud data protection tools
  • cloudscaling.com    Open cloud platforms
  • Apache CloudStack   Open Source Cloud tools
  • cloudtp.com    Open cloud deployment solutions
  • CloudVelocity   Hybrid Cloud and data protection management solutins
  • cloverleafcomm.com    Storage Virtualization tools (Bought by DotHill)
  • clustrix.com    Storage software startup
  • cmg.org    Computer Measurement Group
  • cnt.com    Switches, WAN gateways, software (Bought by McData bought by Brocade)
  • Cobalt Iron   Data protection tools
  • code42.com    Cloud storage and backup aka Crashplan
  • Codenomicon.com    Data and security tools
  • cofio.com    Backup and data protection tools
  • CohesiveFT   Cloud solution and management tools
  • colliercomputing.com    VAR
  • colo-america.com    Co-location and hosting services

  • communities.vmware.com    VMware community
  • commvault.com    Data management software
  • comodo.com    Encryption tools
  • Comparitech    Consumer tech reviews
  • compellent.com    SMB Storage sub-systems and software – (Bought by Dell)
  • comptia.org    Computer and Technology Industry Association
  • compucom.com    VAR
  • computergamedesign.org    Computer game design
  • compuverde.com    Big data management tools and object storage
  • compuware.com    IT management and performance tools
  • condre.com    VAR/distributor
  • Condusiv   Data and storage management tools including Diskeeper
  • XO Communications    AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
  • Connected Cloud    Cloud management tools
  • connectwise.com    IT automation tools
  • conres.com    Value added reseller (VAR)
  • consiliant.com    VAR
  • ConstantData.com    Real time data replication and mirroring
  • continuitysoftware.com    Replication and Snapshot data protection management
  • convirture.com    Cloud and virtualization tools
  • copansys.com    Secondary storage for backup and archiving (Assets Bought by SGI)
  • coraid.com    SATA over Ethernet storage
  • CoreSite    AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
  • corevault.com    Cloud services
  • Cormant    DCIM and data center and infrastructure management tools
  • corning.com    Fiber optic cabling
  • corsair.com    SSD
  • corvis.com    Networking solutions
  • cPanel    Web, cloud and hosting management tools
  • crashplan.com    Cloud storage and backup aka Code42
  • creekpath.com    Storage management software
  • www.critical-links.com    Office in a box
  • crossroads.com    Storage routers and data protection management tools
  • Crosswalkinc.com    Clustered NAS storage (Ceased Operations)
  • crucial.com    Memory and SSD solutions
  • cru-dataport.com    Data Archive solutions
  • Crypto.com    Crypto resource site
  • www.ctera.com    Cloud storage appliance
  • Cumulus Networks    Open networking
  • curtisssd.com    SSD solution provider
  • cya.com    Document management and data protection
  • cyber-ark.com    Security data protection tools
  • cypress.com    Storage and networking components
  • dantz.com    Data protection and backup solutions (Aka Retrospect Bought by EMC, EMC sold off)
  • datacentertechnologies.com    Data management solutions (Bought by Symantec)
  • datacore.com    Storage management software
  • datadepositbox.com    Online backup and data protection
  • datadirectnetworks.com    Aka DDN Storage systems, SAN, NAS, Object and cloud
  • datadomain.com    Data Deduplication System (Bought by EMC)
  • Data Dynamics Inc    StorageX Data Movement, Migration and management
  • datafort.com    Online cloud backup
  • dataglobal.com    Data and storage management
  • Data Gravity    Big Data solutions
  • datagres.com    Cloud and application caching acceleration
  • dataguise.com/    Data security solutions
  • datalink.com    VAR
  • datallegro.com    Data warehouse storage solution (Bought by Microsoft)
  • datamirror.com    Data replication solutions
  • DataON Storage    Storage solutions
  • Datapipe    AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
  • dataprotection.com    Vaultlogix data protection tools for cloud
  • DataRAM.com    SSD solutions
  • Data sales    Storage systems sales and leasing
  • dataslide.com    Hard rectangular disk (HRD)
  • datastor.com    Windows based backup data protection
  • datcollaborative.org    Data collaboration group and DAPL material
  • datoptic.com    Storage VAR
  • daymarksi.com    Value added reseller (VAR)
  • DBR360    AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
  • ddifrontline.com    Security and access control
  • debian.org    Open source operating system
  • Debriefing software    Storage SRM tools
  • decru.com    Storage networking security solutions (Bought by NetApp)
  • Asempra.com    Data protection bought by Dell via Quest
  • dell.com    Storage networking equipment
  • Delphix    Storage, data management and data protection tools
  • demandtechnology.com    Demand technology software (performance software)
  • Denodo    Data virtualization tools
  • dexrexgear .com    Social media cloud storage
  • www.dey-sys.com    Open source software based sotrage
  • www.dh2i.com    Database virtualization software tools
  • digidata.com    Storage solutions
  • digistoresolutions.com    Archiving and data protection solutions
  • Digitalocular.com     Video data management tools
  • digitalreefinc.com    eDiscovery and compliance tools
  • digitiliti.com    Cloud and managed service backup
  • diligent.com    Virtual Tape Library (VTL) and Dedupe (Bought by IBM)
  • dimensiondata.com    VAR
  • Dimension Data    Hosting and managed services
  • dincloud.com    Cloud virtual desktop
  • directtextbook.com    Online book venue
  • discoverybox.net    Data protection for legal hold and compliance
  • diskkeeper.com    File and disk storage defragmentation (Condusiv)
  • Disklace.com    Disk storage optimization tools
  • dlink.com    Storage, network and cloud technologies
  • dmtf.org    Distributed Management Task Force
  • dnfstorage.com    iSCSI and hybrid storage (formerly Stonefly)
  • dothill.com    Distributed storage solutions
  • Doubletake.com    Data replication software
  • driveoncloud.com    Cloud drive online storage
  • drivesaversdatarecovery.com    Data protection and recovery
  • drobo.com    SMB and SOHO NAS storage
  • dropbox.com    Cloud storage and file sharing
  • druva.com    Backup, Storage, network and cloud technologies
  • dsireusa.org    Database of State Incentives and Renewable Energy
  • Dundas    Data Visualization and mobile dashboards
  • dvs.de    Digital video systems and storage
  • dynamicsolutions.com    Storage and data protection VAR
  • EaseUS    Backup, data protection and cloning tools
  • ecctek.com    Rugged data storage components
  • econnectix.com    Data and storage management solutions
  • eds.com    Data outsourcing and cloud provider (Bought by HP)
  • eere.energy.gov     U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) web site
  • egenera.com    Blade server and server virtualization management software
  • eginnovations.com    Application and infrastructure monitoring
  • egnyte.com    Cloud backup and data protection
  • eia.doe.gov/fuelelectric.html    Portal for electrical power generation, use and costs
  • emc.com    Storage sub-systems software
  • Emerson.com    DCIM IT Data center power, cooling and environmental management tools
  • Empired FlexScale    IT and business cloud solutions
  • emprisanetworks.com    Network management solutions (Bought by BMC)
  • emulex.com    Host bus adapters and embedded switches
  • enclarity.com    Healthcare CRM and analysis tools
  • encryptstick.com    USB based encryption device
  • enduradata.com    Data distribution and protection
  • energycenter.org    California Center for Sustainable Energy
  • energyshop.com    Portal for energy pricing and options
  • energystar.gov    United States EPA Energy Star web site
  • Enhance-tech.com    Storage VAR
  • enmotus.com    SSD storage tiering technology
  • Ensim   IT and cloud provisioning/management tools
  • enstratus.com    Amazon cloud computing management tools (Bought by Dell)
  • enterprisedb.com    Enterprise Database tools
  • epeat.net    Site for comparing desktop and related products
  • epic.com    Medical Information Technology software
  • equallogic.com    iSCSI storage systems (Bought by Dell)
  • Equinix, Inc.    AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
  • equivio.com    Email data protection and retention
  • ericom.com    Desktop and VDI tools
  • esilicon.com    ASIC and custom silicon development
  • essextec.com    VAR
  • Eucalyptus    Open source cloud solutions
  • Evault.com    aka i365 – Remote (Cloud) backup service provider (Bought by Seagate)
  • Everspin Technologies    MRAM memories
  • evolvingsol.com    VAR
  • evostor.com    Storage startup
  • exablade.com    High performance application acceleration
  • Exablox    SMB storage solutions
  • Exabyte.com    Removable tape and robotics
  • exagrid.com    Backup Storage
  • exanet.com    Clustered NAS Storage (Bought by Dell aka FluidFileSystem)
  • exar.com    Server, Storage and Networking components
  • exavio.com    HD and SD data capture
  • exludus.com    Multi core optimize
  • Expand.com    Network and WAN optimization
  • Expertanalyticalsystems.com    Storage analysis tools
  • Exponential-e Ltd.    AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
  • expresscomputersystems.com    Storage solutions VAR
  • extremenetworks.com    Networking switches

Where To Learn More

View additional NAS, NVMe, SSD, NVM, SCM, Data Infrastructure and HDD related topics via the following links.

Additional learning experiences along with common questions (and answers), as well as tips can be found in Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book.

Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book SDDC

What This All Means

Visit the following additional data infrastructure and IT data center related links.

Links A-E
Links F-J
Links K-O
Links P-T
Links U-Z
Other Links

Ok, nuff said, for now.

Gs

Greg Schulz – Microsoft MVP Cloud and Data Center Management, VMware vExpert 2010-2017 (vSAN and vCloud). Author of Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press), as well as Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press), Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier) and twitter @storageio. Courteous comments are welcome for consideration. First published on https://storageioblog.com any reproduction in whole, in part, with changes to content, without source attribution under title or without permission is forbidden.

All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO. All Rights Reserved. StorageIO is a registered Trade Mark (TM) of Server StorageIO.

Data Infrastructure IT Industry Related Resource Links K to O

Data Infrastructure IT Industry Related Resource Links K to O

IT Data Center and Data Infrastructure Industry Resources

Updated 2/20/2018

Following are some useful Data Infrastructure IT Industry Resource Links K to O to cloud, virtual and traditional IT data infrastructure related web sites. The data infrastructure environment (servers, storage, IO and networking, hardware, software, services, virtual, container and cloud) is rapidly changing. You may encounter a missing URL, or a URL that has changed. This list is updated on a regular basis to reflect changes (additions, changes, and retirement).

Disclaimer and note: URL’s submitted for inclusion on this site will be reviewed for consideration and to be in generally accepted good taste in regards to the theme of this site.

Best effort has been made to validate and verify the data infrastructure URLs that appear on this page and web site however they are subject to change. The author and/or maintainer(s) of this page and web site make no endorsement to and assume no responsibility for the URLs and their content that are listed on this page.

Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book SDDC

Send an email note to info at storageio dot com that includes company name, URL, contact name, title and phone number along with a brief 40 character description to be considered for addition to the above data infrastructure list, or, to be removed. Note that Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC (e.g. StorageIO) does not sell, trade, barter, borrow or share your contact information per our Privacy and Disclosure policy. View related data infrastructure Server StorageIO content here, and signup for our free newsletter here.

Links A-E
Links F-J
Links K-O
Links P-T
Links U-Z
Other Links

  • kaminario.com    Scale out high performance database server
  • kanbox.com    Chineese cloud provider
  • kaseya.com    IT Infrastructure resource management tools
  • kashya.com    Data Protection Solutions (Bought by EMC)
  • kastenchase.com    Data and information security solutions
  • kazeon.com    eDiscovery, search, indexing, classification (Bought by EMC)
  • kcura.com    eDiscovery tools
  • Kerstor.com    Cloud storage
  • kickfire.com    Business analytics tools
  • kineticd.com    Storage and data protection solutions
  • Kingston.com    Memory manufacturer
  • KLSecurity.com    Data protection solutions
  • komnetworks.com    Archiving solutions
  • k-par.com    Archiving solutions
  • ksplice.com    Linux management tools
  • Kubisys.com    Virtualization management tools
  • KVH Co. Ltd.    AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
  • kvsinc.com    Email archiving and compliance software
  • lacie.com    Consumer, SOHO and SMB NAS and DAS storage (Bought by Seagate)
  • laconicsecurity.com    Cloud security and storage
  • lampertz.com    Environmental and data center protection
  • laurustech.com    Managed services provider
  • lecroy.com    Analyzers, probes and diagnostics
  • lefthandnetworks.com    iSCSI clustered storage (Bought by HP)
  • legato.com    Storage management software (Bought by EMC)
  • Lenovo   Servers, storage, workstations
  • Level 3 Communications    AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
  • lexar.com    Flash memory
  • liebert.com    Data center power and cooling systems (Bought by Emerson)
  • Lightower    AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
  • lightsand.com    SAN connectivity
  • likewise.com    Open backup software for macs/Linux/windows
  • liquidcomputing.com    High density servers
  • liquidcoolsolutions.com    Liquid cooled servers
  • Liquidware Labs   Desktop management solutions
  • livedrive.com    Cloud storage and backup
  • www.liveoffice.com    Cloud and Email hosting
  • LiveVault.com    Online cloud backup service (Bought by IronMountain)
  • locknet-inc.com    Security and network management
  • Lockstep.com    Backup and data protection tools
  • logicube.com    Hard drive copy tools
  • LoginVSI   VDI Testing solutions
  • losttapes.org    Portal pertaining to lost magnetic tape information
  • lsi.com    Storage and networking chips and controllers (Bought by Avago)
  • lto-technology.com    Information about LTO tape media
  • lucent.com    Networking components
  • lumigent.com    Compliance management tools
  • luminex.com    S390 IBM Mainframe to open systems gateways
  • luxtera.com    High speed network and storage interconnects
  • m5data.com    VAR
  • MagePlace Backup    Backup and data protection solutions
  • Maginatics.com    Storage for virtual environments
  • magma.com    PCIe and storage solutions
  • mainline.com    VAR
  • Maintech    Infrastructure services
  • maintech.com    IT Servers and solutions
  • Maldivica    Cloud and object storage gateway
  • ManageEngine    DCIM, data center and networking management
  • maponics.com    Mapping data solutions
  • MAPR   Hadoop and Big Data Tools

  • maranti.com    Storage systems
  • marconi.com    Networking equipment
  • marvell.com    Data storage components
  • Masergy    AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
  • Mathon.com    eDiscovery
  • maxava.com    HA tools for IBM iSeries
  • maxell.com    Data storage media
  • maxim-ic.com    Data storage components and solutions
  • maxiscale.com    Web infrastructure scale out file system
  • Maxta   Virtualization storage
  • maxtor.com    Disk drives (Bought by Seagate)
  • maxxan.com    Storage systems (Now Ciphermax)
  • mcdata.com    Switches, WAN gateways, software (Bought by Brocade)
  • mediagateusa.com    HD Video streaming appliance
  • Meditech.com    Medical information technology software
  • Megaport    AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
  • mellanox.com    Ethernet and InfiniBand technology
  • Memeo.com    Data and content management tools
  • Mendocino.com    CDP and data protection (Missing in Action)
  • metalogix.net    Sharepoint archiving solutions
  • methode.com    Storage networking transceivers
  • mezeo.com    Cloud storage management tools
  • micron.com    SSD storage solutions
  • micronet.com    Storage solutions
  • microsoft.com    Hyper-V virtualizaiton, Windows Storage Server, Azure Cloud, Storsimple, SkyDrive (aka OneDrive) and more
  • midwave.com    Var
  • Mimecast email management including archiving
  • Mimosasystems.com    Email protection and archiving (Bought by Iron Mountain)
  • mindtree.com    Testing services
  • Mirantis    OpenStack tools, downloads, service and support
  • Miray HDClone    Storage clone and data protection tools
  • mirra.com    SMB storage sharing
  • mobiuspartners.com    VAR
  • Modius    DCIM power, cooling and monitoring
  • moka5.com    VDI tools
  • MongoDB    Open source document optimized database
  • Monitis.com    IT Monitoring and services (applications, systems, clouds and more)
  • Monosphere.com    Storage planning and usage software (Bought by Quest)
  • moonwalk.com    HSM, ILM and data management software
  • morphlabs.com    Dense converged server platforms
  • mosaictec.com    Value added reseller (VAR)
  • mosys.com    High density memory components
  • mpstor.com    Cloud storage and orchestration software
  • msiinet.com    VAR
  • mti.com    European VAR
  • mtron.net    Solid state storage devices
  • My Digital SSD    SSD solutions
  • NAKIVO    Backup and data protection tools
  • napatech.com    Network tools and analysis
  • naspa.org    System administrator’s user group
  • nasuni.com    Cloud storage access appliance
  • ncino.com    Banking and financial deployment platform
  • ncipher.com    Data protection and security solutions (Bought by Thales)
  • ncompass-inc.com    VAR and services firm
  • ncr.com    Servers and storage solutions
  • ndci.com    Data conversion services
  • ndmp.org    Trade organization for NDMP backup protocol
  • neartek.com    VTL software (Bought by EMC)
  • nebulassolutions.com    Security and data protection
  • NEC.com    Servers and storage
  • neopathnetworks.com    Network file management solutions (Bought by Cisco)
  • neoscale.com    Storage networking security (Assets Bought by nCipher)
  • nephoscale.com    Cloud and object storage
  • NeptunesCloud.net    Cloud IaaS solutions
  • www.neptuny.com    Performance and capacity planning tools
  • nerc.com    North American Electrical Reliability Council
  • netcelera.com    WAN File system caching and acceleration
  • netcomm.com.au    Broadband service provider
  • netdirectsystems.com    VAR
  • neterion.com    High performance iSCSI and Ethernet 10Gb technology Bought by Exar)
  • netex.com    IP compression and channel extension
  • netezza.com    Big Data – Data warehouse storage solutions (Bought by IBM)
  • Netgear.com    SOHO and SMB storage and networking
  • NetIQ    Data center, security, identify and data protection management
  • netlist.com    Memory solutions
  • netoptics.com    Network monitoring
  • netronome.com    Network and I/O optimization technology
  • netspi.com    Network security and digital forensics
  • networkappliance.com    Storage sub-systems, management software
  • networkgeneral.com    Network and application monitoring
  • networkinstruments.com    Network test and diagnostic and performance monitoring
  • netwrix.com    Enterprise systems management tools
  • netxen.com    High performance 10Gb Ethernet chips and NICs
  • neuwingenergy.com    Energy management organization
  • neuxpower.com    File compression and data reduction
  • Neverfailgroup.com    HA software
  • nevex.com    Caching and application acceleration
  • newboundary.com    IT policy management and IRM tools
  • newisys.com    Storage enclosures
  • newrelic.com    Web, cloud and application management
  • nexenta.com    ZFS based storage management solutions
  • nexgenstorage.com    Storage with PCIe flash card
  • nexsan.com    SAS/SATA and MAID storage subsystems (Bought by Imaiton)
  • nextio.com    SSD and application acceleration solutions
  • NexusMN / Computex    VAR (e.g. Formerly Nexus MN and Stratos – now Computex)
  • nfpa.org    National Fire Protection Association
  • nicira.com    Software defined networking and IOV (Bought by VMware)
  • nimblestorage.com    Converged iSCSI SAN, backup and DR
  • nimbula.com    Cloud and application orchestration management tools
  • Nimbusdata.com    iSCSI storage
  • nirvanix.com    Cloud storage provider (Ceased operations)
  • njvc.com    Cloud and technology service provider
  • Nylte    DCIM software tools
  • noggin.intel.com/rr/    Intel Recommended Reading List
  • noliosoft.com    Cloud application management tools
  • Norlight.com    Data communications and services
  • nortel.com    Networking products
  • nortelnetworks.com    Optical networking
  • northernsoft.com    Medical software
  • novastor.com    Backup and cloud data protection tools
  • Novell.com    Server software vendor (Bought by Attachmate)
  • Novuscg.com    Storage management and services (Bought by IBM)
  • Nomura Research Institute (NRI)    AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
  • nsic.org    National Storage Industry Consortium
  • ntp.com    Storage Management Software
  • NTT Communications Corporation    AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
  • numarasoftware.com    IT Resource management, asset tracking tools
  • numonyx.com    SSD memory solutions
  • nutanix.com    Converged server and storage VM platform
  • nvelo.com    Caching IO performance tools
  • nvidia.com    Graphics and visualization tools
  • ocarinanetworks.com    Data reduction and compression tools (Bought by Dell)
  • ocztechnology.com    SSD drives and PCIe cards (Bought by Toshiba after bankruptcy)
  • offsitebackups.com    Online and cloud backup solutions
  • olixir.com    Removable storage for backup and data protection
  • omneon.com    Archiving and fixed content storage solutions
  • onapp.com    Cloud, CDN and storage tools
  • onaro.com    Storage and Storage Network Management (Bought by NetApp)
  • onlinebackupsearch.com    Various online backup reviews
  • oblinecourses.com    Various online education courses for various topics
  • onpathtech.com    Physical layer networking
  • onstor.com    Clustered NAS storage including NAS gateways (Bought by LSI)
  • Ontrack.com    Email and data protection software
  • OO Software   Windows management and data protection tools
  • opalis.com    Virtual data center management tools
  • OpenCompute   OpenCompute consortium
  • opendatacenteralliance.org    Open Data Center Alliance
  • open-e.com    iSCSI and NAS storage
  • Open.IO    Application aware object and bulk scale out software defined storage
  • openfabrics.org    Open Fabric Alliance
  • OpenNebula    Open source cloud software
  • opennetworking.org    Open Networking Foundation
  • OpensourceSystems.com    Data storage solutions
  • OpenStack   Open source cloud compute and storage software
  • opnet.com    Application and network performance management
  • Opsware.com    Network and storage management (HP)
  • Optica Tech.    Server and storage connectivity including FICON
  • opticatech.com    Mainframe and ESCON encryption
  • oracle.com    Data management software, hardware and services (Bought Sun/STK and others)
  • Ortera.com    Performance monitoring and management
  • OSNEXUS   Quantstor ZFS based Storage management solutions
  • Outsource Data Recovery   Data Recovery services
  • overlandstorage.com    Tape and backup, data retention, NAS solutions
  • owncloud.org    Cloud infrastructure tools

Where To Learn More

View additional NAS, NVMe, SSD, NVM, SCM, Data Infrastructure and HDD related topics via the following links.

Additional learning experiences along with common questions (and answers), as well as tips can be found in Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book.

Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book SDDC

What This All Means

Visit the following additional data infrastructure and IT data center related links.

Links A-E
Links F-J
Links K-O
Links P-T
Links U-Z
Other Links

Ok, nuff said, for now.

Gs

Greg Schulz – Microsoft MVP Cloud and Data Center Management, VMware vExpert 2010-2017 (vSAN and vCloud). Author of Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press), as well as Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press), Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier) and twitter @storageio. Courteous comments are welcome for consideration. First published on https://storageioblog.com any reproduction in whole, in part, with changes to content, without source attribution under title or without permission is forbidden.

All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO. All Rights Reserved. StorageIO is a registered Trade Mark (TM) of Server StorageIO.

Data Infrastructure IT Industry Related Resource Links to Others

Data Infrastructure IT Industry Related Resource Links to Others

IT Data Center and Data Infrastructure Industry Resources

Updated 2/20/2018

Following are some useful Data Infrastructure IT Industry Resource Links to cloud, virtual and traditional IT data infrastructure related web sites. The data infrastructure environment (servers, storage, IO and networking, hardware, software, services, virtual, container and cloud) is rapidly changing. You may encounter a missing URL, or a URL that has changed. This list is updated on a regular basis to reflect changes (additions, changes, and retirement).

Disclaimer and note: URL’s submitted for inclusion on this site will be reviewed for consideration and to be in generally accepted good taste in regards to the theme of this site.

Best effort has been made to validate and verify the data infrastructure URLs that appear on this page and web site however they are subject to change. The author and/or maintainer(s) of this page and web site make no endorsement to and assume no responsibility for the URLs and their content that are listed on this page.

Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book SDDC

Send an email note to info at storageio dot com that includes company name, URL, contact name, title and phone number along with a brief 40 character description to be considered for addition to the above data infrastructure list, or, to be removed. Note that Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC (e.g. StorageIO) does not sell, trade, barter, borrow or share your contact information per our Privacy and Disclosure policy. View related data infrastructure Server StorageIO content here, and signup for our free newsletter here.

Links A-E
Links F-J
Links K-O
Links P-T
Links U-Z
Other Links

  • www.10gea.org    10Gb Ethernet industry trade organization
  • www.1394ta.org    1394 (Firewire) trade association
  • www.3com.com    Networking equipment (Bought by HP)
  • www.3leafnetworks.com    I/O virtualization
  • www.3par.com    Clustered storage systems (Bought by HP)
  • www.3tera.com    IT Cloud management tools (Bought by CA)
  • www.4blox.com    Data center design services
  • www.4blox.com    Linux iSCSI target optimization stack
  • www.4bridgeworks.com aka Bridgeworks    SAN networking and connectivity solutions
  • www.80plus.org    Energy efficient power supply trade group

Where To Learn More

View additional NAS, NVMe, SSD, NVM, SCM, Data Infrastructure and HDD related topics via the following links.

Additional learning experiences along with common questions (and answers), as well as tips can be found in Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book.

Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book SDDC

What This All Means

Visit the following additional data infrastructure and IT data center related links.

Links A-E
Links F-J
Links K-O
Links P-T
Links U-Z
Other Links

Ok, nuff said, for now.

Gs

Greg Schulz – Microsoft MVP Cloud and Data Center Management, VMware vExpert 2010-2017 (vSAN and vCloud). Author of Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press), as well as Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press), Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier) and twitter @storageio. Courteous comments are welcome for consideration. First published on https://storageioblog.com any reproduction in whole, in part, with changes to content, without source attribution under title or without permission is forbidden.

All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO. All Rights Reserved. StorageIO is a registered Trade Mark (TM) of Server StorageIO.

StorageIO data infrastructure industry vendors links page updated with over 1,200 entries

Storage I/O trends

StorageIO data infrastructure industry vendors links page updated with over 1,200 entries

Is your company, organization or one that you are a fan of, or represent listed on the StorageIO industry links page?

The StorageIO industry links page has been updated with over thousand different industry related companies, vendors, vars, trade groups, part and solution suppliers along with cloud and managed service providers. The common theme with these industry links is information and data infrastructures which means severs, storage, IO and networking, hardware, software, applications and tools, services, products and related items for traditional, virtual and cloud environments.

The industry links page is accessed from the StorageIO main web page via the Tools and Links menu tab, or via the URL https://storageio.com/links. An example of the StorageIO industry links page is shown below with six different menu tabs in alphabetical order.

storage I/O and data infrastructure cloud, virtual and software defined links

Know of a company, service or organization that is not listed on the links page, if so, send an email note to info at storageio.com. If your company or organization is listed, contact StorageIO to discuss how to expand your presence on the links page and other related options.

Visit the updated StorageIO industry links page and watch for more updates, and click here to learn more about the links page.

Ok, nuff said (for now)

Cheers
Gs

Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)
twitter @storageio

All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC All Rights Reserved

Trick or treat and vendor fun games

In the spirit of Halloween and zombies season, a couple of thoughts come to mind about vendor tricks and treats. This is an industry trends and perspectives post, part of an ongoing series looking at various technology and fun topics.

The first trick or treat game pertains to the blame game; you know either when something breaks, or at the other extreme, before you have even made a decision to buy something. The trick or treat game for decision-making goes something like this.

StorageIO industry trends cloud, virtualization and big data

Vendor “A” says products succeed with their solution while failure results with a solution from “B” when doing “X”. Otoh, vendor “B” claims that “X” will fail when using a solution from vendor “A”. In fact, you can pick what you want to substitute for “X”, perhaps VDI, PCIe, Big Data, Little Data, Backup, Archive, Analytics, Private Cloud, Public Cloud, Hybrid Cloud, eDiscovery you name it.

This is not complicated math or big data problem requiring a high-performance computing (HPC) platform. A HPC Zetta-Flop processing ability using 512 bit addressing of 9.9 (e.g. 1 nine) PettaBytes of battery-backed DRAM and an IO capability of 9.99999 (e.g. 5 9’s) trillion 8 bit IOPS to do table pivots or runge kutta numerical analysis, map reduce, SAS or another modeling with optional iProduct or Android interface are not needed.

image of StorageIO big data HPC cloud storageimage of StorageIO big data HPC cloud storage
StorageIO images of touring Texas Advanced Computing (e.g. HPC) Center

Can you solve this equation? Hint it does not need a PhD or any other advanced degree. Another hint, if you have ever been at any side of the technology product and services decision-making table, regardless of the costume you wore, you should know the answer.

Of course the question of would “X” fail regardless of who or what “A” or “B” let alone a “C”, “D” or “F”? In other words, it is not the solution, technology, vendor or provider, rather the problem or perhaps even lack thereof that is the issue. Or is it a case where there is a solution from “A”, “B” or any others that is looking for a problem, and if it is the wrong problem, there can be a wrong solution thus failure?

StorageIO industry trends cloud, virtualization and big data

Another trick or treat game is vendors public relations (PR) or analyst relations (AR) people to ask for one thing and delivery or ask another. For example, some vendor, service provider, their marketing AR and PR people or surrogates make contact wanting to tell of various success and failure story. Of course, this is usually their success and somebody else’s failure, or their victory over something or someone who sometimes can be interesting. Of course, there are also the treats to get you to listen to the above, such as tempt you with a project if you meet with their subject, which may be a trick of a disappearing treat (e.g. magic, poof it is gone after the discussion).

There are another AR and PR trick and treat where they offer on behalf of their representative organization or client to a perspective or exclusive insight on their competitor. Of course, the treat from their perspective is that they will generously expose all that is wrong with what a competitor is saying about their own (e.g. the competitors) product.

StorageIO industry trends cloud, virtualization and big data

Let me get this straight, I am not supposed to believe what somebody says about his or her own product, however, supposed to believe what a competitor says is wrong with the competition’s product, and what is right with his or her own product.

Hmm, ok, so let me get this straight, a competitor say “A” wants to tell me what somebody say from “B” has told me is wrong and I should schedule a visit with a truth squad member from “A” to get the record set straight about “B”?

Does that mean then that I go to “B” for a rebuttal, as well as an update about “A” from “B”, assuming that what “A” has told me is also false about themselves, and perhaps about “B” or any other?

Too be fair, depending on your level of trust and confidence in either a vendor, their personal or surrogates, you might tend to believe more from them vs. others, or at least until you been tricked after given treats. There may be some that have been tricked, or they tried applying to many treats to present a story that behind the costume might be a bit scary.

StorageIO industry trends cloud, virtualization and big data

Having been through enough of these, and I candidly believe that sometimes “A” or “B” or any other party actually do believe that they have more or better info about their competitor and that they can convince somebody about what their competitor is doing better than the competitor can. I also believe that there are people out there who will go to “A” or “B” and believe what they are told by based on their preference, bias or interests.

When I hear from vendors, VARs, solution or service providers and others, it’s interesting hearing point, counterpoint and so forth, however if time is limited, I’am more interested in hearing from such as “A” about them, what they are doing, where success, where challenges, where going and if applicable, under NDA go into more detail.

StorageIO industry trends cloud, virtualization and big data

Customer success stories are good, however again, if interested in what works, what kind of works, or what does not work, chances are when looking for G2 vs. GQ, a non-scripted customer conversation or perspective of the good, the bad and the ugly is preferred, even if under NDA. Again, if time is limited which it usually is, focus on what is being done with your solution, where it is going and if compelled send follow-up material that can of course include MUD and FUD about others if that is your preference.

Then there is when during a 30 minute briefing, the vendor or solution provider is still talking about trends, customer pain points, what competitors are doing at 21 minutes into the call with no sign of an announcement, update or news in site

Lets not forget about the trick where the vendor marketing or PR person reaches out and says that the CEO, CMO, CTO or some other CxO or Chief Jailable Officer (CJO) wants to talk with you. Part of the trick is when the CxO actually makes it to the briefing and is not ready, does not know why the call is occurring, or, thinks that a request for an audience has been made with them for an interview or something else.

StorageIO industry trends cloud, virtualization and big data

A treat is when 3 to 4 minutes into a briefing, the vendor or solution provider has already framed up what and why they are doing something. This means getting to what they are announcing or planning on doing and getting into a conversation to discuss what they are doing and making good follow-up content and resources available.

StorageIO industry trends cloud, virtualization and big data

Sometimes a treat is when a briefer goes on autopilot nailing their script for 29 of a 30 minute session then use the last-minute to ask if there are any questions. The reason autopilot briefings can be a treat is when they are going over what is in the slide deck, webex, or press release thus affording an opportunity to get caught up on other things while talk at you. Hmm, perhaps need to consider playing some tricks in reward for those kind of treats? ;)

StorageIO industry trends cloud, virtualization and big data

Do not be scared, not everybody is out to trick you with treats, and not all treats have tricks attached to them. Be prepared, figure out who is playing tricks with treats, and who has treats without tricks.

Oh, and as a former IT customer, vendor and analyst, one of my favorites is contact information of my dogs to vendors who require registration on their websites for basic things such as data sheets. Another is supplying contact information of competing vendors sales reps to vendors who also require registration for basic data sheets or what should otherwise be generally available information as opposed to more premium treats. Of course there are many more fun tricks, however lets leave those alone for now.

Note: Zombie voting rules apply which means vote early, vote often, and of course vote for those who cannot include those that are dead (real or virtual).

Where To Learn More

View additiona related material via the following links.

Additional learning experiences along with common questions (and answers), as well as tips can be found in Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book.

Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book SDDC

What This All Means

Watch out for tricks and treats, have a safe and fun Zombie (aka Halloween) season. See you while out and about this fall and don’t forget to take part in the ongoing zombie technology poll. Oh, and be safe with trick or treat and vendor fun games

Ok, nuff said, for now.

Gs

Greg Schulz – Microsoft MVP Cloud and Data Center Management, VMware vExpert 2010-2018. Author of Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press), as well as Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press), Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier) and twitter @storageio. Courteous comments are welcome for consideration. First published on https://storageioblog.com any reproduction in whole, in part, with changes to content, without source attribution under title or without permission is forbidden.

All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO. All Rights Reserved. StorageIO is a registered Trade Mark (TM) of Server StorageIO.

Who or what is your sphere of influence?

Disclosure: I used to be an IT customer working in different organizations, than worked for various vendors, than for an analyst firm before starting StorageIO. Thus I have been at various seats around the proverbial IT table, having listened to as well as being part of various stories from different vantage points, thus my view and sphere or focus or influence may be different from yours.

 

Who is your sphere or circle of influence?

If you listen to vendors your perceptions will be one thing, if you listen to customers, your perceptions will be different. Or, if you simply read and get information and perspectives via the media and depending upon their sources or opinions, guess what!

 

Taking a step back for a moment.

Recently I have attended either in person, or via virtual means various vendor briefings and announcements, as well as meeting and talking with IT professionals face to face or via phone and other means. Likewise I see and read various industry related material via printed (yes some still exist), online, web, blogs, podcasts, videos, tweets from different sources ranging from traditional media or journalist organizations using in-house staff or a combination of staff and freelance writers as well as upstart new media, to vendors and vars, research analyst among others.

What jumped out at me as a perspective is something that should be as clear as seeing through both pairs of eyes or listening with two ears (assuming no ailments). That is, if all you listen to are vendors guess what your thought and perspective basis will be.

Likewise, if all you do is listen to users guess what the perspective is going to be? Another angle is that if you are in academia or research areas, and those that you associate with are also only in that venue, guess what? Or, how about if all you do is listen to particularly media or blog venues, to vars or specific analysis, or, get your info second or third hand hopefully you start to see the picture here. How about if all you do to get your information is by reading press releases or customer case studies, while providing some information, what about the story behind the story and what it all means?

For example, if all a reporter, blogger, media analyst, journalist or free-lance writer does to get their info is from vendors, guess how those discussions might be influenced. Or, if an analyst, advisor, researcher, consultant, var or independent blogger only gets their product and industry trends perspectives from vendors, guess how that might be shaped. Let alone, if your focus is on quantitative vs. qualitative depending upon information sources your view or influence will vary.

While sitting in as well as listening in remotely on some of those vendor briefings it dawned on me how perhaps there are those who only get their information on trends, perspectives and industry challenges let alone on product or competitive positioning from those venues, or, in the after the fact market research accounting numbers. After all, if your time is spent on the traveling media, analyst and blogger briefing circuit going from one big tent to another with little or no time to engage with others in the ecosystem, guess what the perspectives might possible be?

I was also wondering recently in a different venue that was filled with IT customers (e.g. users) along with some vendors and vars a similar thought. That is, if attendees never listened or attended vendor, var or third-party produced events and seminars how they would get information and dialogue exchange for forming opinions.

Or if bloggers, media, free-lance writers our journalist only get their information from vendor briefings or talking with handpicked reference customers or pre-screened and scripted pundits, is if they are getting or even asking about the bigger or broader story, the story behind the story for their viewers or readers.

Now this is not saying that any one of those is a negative or inappropriate or non important venue or source, rather, simply point out that views and perspectives eve if formed by yourself can be shaped by your sources of information.

In other words, leverage various forms of information and knowledge exchange including different venues. Form your own perspectives based on different sources and exchanges or discussions leveraging that gray matter (not talking about hair either) that sits behind your eyes, slightly above your mouth and between those ears.

 

What to do or who to listen to?

I spend my talking with manufactures, vars, service providers, bloggers, consultants, media and financial analysts, and of course, lots and lots of IT customers to gauge what is going on, the issues, challenges, opportunities, who has been naughty and nice. Consequently, my view and sphere of influences tend to be more applied and rooted with what is going on in many IT shops vs being shaped by what others want me to hear, see or think.

Something that I have found over the years is that talking directly with IT customers in real-time enables quicker perspectives and feedback on their needs and issues for when I talk with vars or vendors as well as the media.

Likewise, having regular in-depth discussions with vendors, vars and service providers helps to give perspective on where those groups are going and looking to discuss with their technologies. At times the discussions are under NDA (both on the customer as well as the var, vendor or service provider sides) and other times they are in the open depending upon the conversation or topic sensitivity.

I say leverage all the different resources, views and perspectives that are available and depending on who you are or what you do, set up dialogue with others given how easy it is to do with various mediums or venues. For example, if you are a media, financial, research or consulting advisory analyst or self-proclaimed pundit, set up open and two-way dialogue with IT customers, vars, public relations, consultants as well as media in addition to traditional vendor controlled analyst relations (while you are at it, set up some information vendor dialogue as well).

Who Are You and Your Influences
Figure 1 Some spheres of influence and influences

So who are you and what are your circles or spheres of influence as well as those that you influence (Figure 1)? If you are a media (e.g. journalist, writer, blogger, freelancer, editor, publisher) than set up relationships with various analysts, advisors, consultants, vars, customers and so forth. If you are the customer, likewise set up relationships with both traditional and new or nontraditional analysts and media venues, other customers and vars. hopefully you start to see the picture which is either hibernate, lurk, or proactively engage with others in a medium or way that suits your needs or requirements.

If you have only been a vendor or var, learn about the others around the table and likewise, if only have been a media or analyst, learn about the vendors and the customers, the vars and so forth. Expand your horizons and sources of information exchange, debate or discussion. After all, you may still come back to the same premises or perspectives, however at least you can say and prove that thesis on the basis of having discussed or researched it with your broader, diverse network of contacts.

Likewise, when sharing information or knowledge, keep in mind that there are different audiences, some of whom may have seen before what you have found to be new and revolutionary while others will have perhaps a 180 degree view and others on the same page if not same ball park.

 

Bottom line

Use your brain to read, listen, learn, discuss, ask questions, share information and form your own opinions, thoughts and perspectives. Rest assured, no one medium, venue or source has the complete insight into your specific environment, requirements, issues and challenges and if it does, that would be truly revolutionary!

And that is all that I have to say about that, at least for now…

Ok, nuff said.

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)
twitter @storageio

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