4 Things Frank Slootman Probably Wishes He Didn't Say

Dave Raffo interviewed Frank Slootman this week at SNW.  For those that don't know him, Frank is the former CEO at Data Domain and is now President of EMC's Data Backup Division.  During the interview Frank said things that were, well, un-presidential.  Unfortunately for Frank, we live in a world that records comments like his and preserves them longer than those unidentifiable objects tucked away in the back of your refrigerator.

Anyway, Frank made four comments during this interview that stood out as “huh? did he really say that?” types of comments.  I only wish I were in the room so I could have asked some follow up questions.  If I were invited into the room (like that would ever happen) here is the way the interview might have gone:

Raffo: But if Disk Library customers want dedupe, they have to buy a Data Domain box?

Slootman: Yes. If you have a car and now you want an airplane, are you going to put wings on your car? You have to buy an airplane.

DrDedupe:  Frank – I am not sure that is the correct analogy.  A car is designed to travel on the ground, and an airplane is designed to fly through the air.  I think what you meant to say is that if you have a car now and you want a more efficient car, EMC says you should just buy another car, right?

Raffo: EMC has sold Quantum's data deduplication software with Disk Library. Will you sell Data Domain software with Disk Library instead?

Slootman: No. Disk Library is a straight VTL [virtual tape library] , like it always should have been. It's a brute-force system, no finesse. That's the way it was when it first came out, then they tried to turn it into something it is not by adding deduplication and replication. They bastardized the product, so much so people don't even know what a VTL is anymore. People think VTL is a generic term for backup to disk. People think Data Domain is a VTL, but 90% of the systems we sell are IP-connected, not with a Fibre Channel protocol.

DrDedupe:  Thanks for the clarification Frank - EMC was selling a bastardized product and confusing the market.  Good luck in the next all-hands meeting at that division you run now.

Raffo: What about the Quantum software EMC has sold with Disk Library?

Slootman: We're swapping a lot of those boxes out at zero revenue. We've taken out about a dozen and we'll continue to take out a similar number this quarter. Customers don't want it.

DrDedupe:  Wow Frank this is a very interesting disclosure.  Would you care to point out any other products that EMC has sold that your customers don't want?

Raffo: Will you continue to work closely with Symantec Corp.'s OpenStorage (OST) API now that you're EMC?

Slootman: Yes. I'm not throwing my partners under the bus. We'll compete, but we're all competitors and partners these days. We won't screw them. We'll screw other companies, like CommVault. We {Data Domain] treated them as a good partner and they came after us.

DrDedupe:  This is another interesting disclosure Frank.  I am sure our viewers will want to know who the other companies are that you intend to screw.

So thats the way the interview might have gone with DrDedupe in the room.  I'm pretty sure that Frank will have some 'splaining to do next time he travels to Hopkinton.  But then again, isn't he starting to sound more like other EMC execs?

DrDedupe

Comments

[Dipesh Patel]

Brilliant. I have to hand it to you Dr.Dedupe, only wish that I had posted this.

[js]

I heard the execs flew to him this past week!