It’s been a long-time-coming really…
Back in September 2011, I wrote a post titled Data Immortality and the Death of Backup. It’s one of those posts based on a random thought or idea you have while you’re in the shower, or driving, or doing nothing, really, and the light bulb just goes off….similar to that first time you really “get” things like How subnetting works or How virtualization works. But it’s such an obvious thing, that even I get so tunnel-visioned, and forget to think outside the box all-too-often. We think about continuing to compete with what the other companies are doing, and trying to rat-race with each other, like “no my idea is better!” “No! MINE is better!! NYUH NYUH!”
It’s tired, and it’s old. Customers are tired of hearing about it, all they do is ultimately use it against us to drive down costs, and the field turns into nothing more than cheerleaders and name-callers for all parties involved.
Why is this important? Because I’m kinda done talking about it. Last year, I was not happy with my blogging. At all. Last year, I turned into a bit of a marketing arm, which is [to an extent] part of my job description, but I never intended it to transcend onto my blog, and it’s unfortunate that it did. Some of that has to do with finding my place inside of a gigantic vendor in the storage industry. I allowed a lot of influence to be parlayed onto me because I wanted to be the cheerleader I mentioned before. GO TEAM! Right?!
But I digress…
So this is my promise to you, readers. I’m going to just start talking about technology again. You might run into some competitive comparison discussions, but if those crop up, all I hope it will do is invite learning and continued discussion. Spark people to do their own homework. And I hope this blog becomes one of said homework sites, because I’m about to take it in a different direction entirely.
Next up: DataONTAP 8.1 Cluster-Mode. What is it? Why the industry needs it, and how it’s going to change the storage paradigm in your data center. I’ve got a series of posts coming over the next couple of weeks that I’ve been DYING to get out to you, and PR has finally given me the green light! So subscribe and “Like” this page to keep up!
If you’re a NetApp customer or partner, and want to know more about how something works, leave suggestions in the comments below.
We’re approaching the end of February. What are YOU excited about for 2012?
-Nick
Nick Howell
- 1 Comment
- NetApp
- 02/18/2012
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Glad to see a re-focus on the technology.
Agree with you 100% on the fact customers are weary of the vendor dogma battles. My anecdote: Had a sales rep come in one time to pitch a technology tool. Instead of focusing on the merits of his company’s product he proceeded to trash their main competitor and their offering. I told him how interesting his opinion was because he used to be my rep for Company B before he switched shirts. And had spent a lot of my time trying to convince me to buy Company B’s tool. So he was either a liar or he thought I was an idiot and wouldn’t remember. Which was it? Cue crickets.
Customers are watching, listening, and reading. We’re probably buying gear, software, or services from a wide scope of vendors. We want to hear about the pros and cons, what’s coming down the pipeline, suggestions for doing something faster and easier, and yes, cheaper. And maybe even how key vendors work together to create fantastic technology that enables us to do our jobs better.