NetApp - Exposed

Geneouses - Hetero and Homo

If you’re involved in the storage industry, you may be wondering which is more newsworthy of late.  Miss California, Bruno, or the NetApp-EMC tussle over Data Domain?

 

Regarding the latter, one of the most abused aspects of the discussion concerns NetApp’s track record regarding corporate acquisitions.  Biased rhetoric about selective transactions hardly paints a clear or accurate picture.  For proper perspective, it’s important to understand how NetApp’s growth plans drive our resulting acquisition strategy.

Plasma Clouds – To Boldly Go

NetApp recently co-sponsored with Cisco a bunch of premiers for the most successful Star Trek movie ever.  As you might expect from my previous blogs on this topic, NetApp technology was once again pivotal in bringing this movie to market.  ILM is not a tired storage marketing cliché to NetApp – it’s actually a premier customer! :)

There’s an interesting link emerging between the computing and storage infrastructures of leading post-production / animation houses - and Cloud Providers.

Peaches

Even tho the Oscars are over, it's a Hollywood-themed night here at Exposed.  For example, I just saw the opening midnight screening of a NetApp Data ONTAP GX customer's impressive handiwork on IMAX no less!  It's a fearless and ambitious adaptation of the Superhero movie genre.  Although it could have and should have left 40 minutes on the cutting room floor, it's still a masterpiece IMO!

Watchmen

And The Contest Evolves

Dr. Dedupe has taken the bull by the horns and helped raise the ante on the bonus prize.  He has posted the lyrics to our much-talked-about YouTube video and challenged the blogosphere / twitterverse / web2dotWhateverWorld to the following:

Send him your version of the lyrics, or better yet send him a video of your dedupe parody song and he'll send you some NetApp beanies just like the one worn by N-Tap.  He doesn't need anything fancy, just get those Blackberry's and Flip's rolling, post your video on YouTube and send the link to his blog.  And remember to keep it clean people! :)

Custom lyrics are one thing, but I'm sure the good doctor and I can offer up a very desirable bonus prize to anyone who posts a homegrown video (not someone else's) version of this NTAP dedupe rap.

Lights, Camera, Action!

Can you spot me^H^Hus?

UPDATE FEB 26th:  Our VP & GM in Product Operations (Louis Selincourt) is also lurking somewhere in this clip.  Spot him and he's offered up a dinner date with the winner!

In a moment of weakness, our clever marketing folks convinced me to be an "extra" on the set shooting NetApp's first-ever rap video.  So to make this even more fun, I'll give away some cool NetApp swag to the first commenters on this blog who can spot either of:

1. My specific location(s) in this video, or
2. When I first appear (mm:ss), or
3. How long I appear for, or
4. When I last appear.

I'll also give a bonus prize (see above for the latest) to whoever will post a home-grown custom youtube video version of our dedupe rap.  And yes even my avid EMC and HP readers qualify :)

UPDATE FEB 25th:  For those who are not movie buffs, I should take a moment to explain that this is based on the climactic scene from Eminem's Movie 8 Mile of a few years ago ... and was done with tongue firmly planted in cheek of course :)

Has Storage Swift-Blogging Finally Jumped the Shark?

Apologies to my readers outside of the US or Canada, as this title employs American political and pop culture slang which may not be familiar.

It's not even over yet, but to say this has been an exceptional month in the storage blogosphere would be an understatement.  I witnessed something I frankly never expected to see in the hotly competitive enterprise storage marketing landscape.  The end of unchallenged blogging belligerence.

EMC's (botched) Storage Capacity Utilization Magic Trick

One of my favorite movies is The Prestige.  Among the many virtues a movie needs to make it to my "favorites list" is the ability to stay enjoyable after repeated viewings, and perhaps even reveal a bit more each time you see it.  This movie delivers on both counts.

The plot cleverly revolves around the 3 parts or acts of "every great magic trick":

1. The Pledge
2. The Turn
3. The Prestige

If Billy Connolly were a storage guy

The blogosphere just got richer today, and our competitors have one less place to hide their flawed logic.  NetApp has unleashed our very own Big Yin, Alex McDonald with his new blog:

http://blogs.netapp.com/shadeofblue/

The profoundness of his observations is matched only by the sharpness of his wit.  I'd love to embed some clever Billy Connolly YouTube clip here to drive the point home visually, but I couldn't find any that were SFW, so you'll just have to amuse yourself :)

Welcome Alex!

Where's my red stapler?

My post last week continues to get a lot of comments from all sides, as well as some media coverage, which has kept the topic on my mind.  In fact, the past couple of weeks have been rife with current events which fully support NetApp's decision to act decisively and responsibly on behalf of our compliance customers.

The threat from within

Is there a Milton on your team?

NetApp "Intestinal Fortitude" Brings Joy to Billions

My most active EMC sparring partner (StorageZilla) certainly has a way with words, starting with a reference to hibernation and ending a recent post anticipating our "next big marketing bowel movement."  In case you're reading this near mealtime, let me assure you that I'm not going to extend that tempting metaphor any further than I have to :-)

The Canadian Perspective

If 'Zilla only lived thru the winter I just endured, perhaps he would understand why hibernation is a very appropriate explanation for my 3 month delay in between recent posts.  Digging out form under 3+ yards (that's basically 3 meters to you metric readers) of snow - including a full one during the last storm of the year - will do that to you!  Yes that is my house :-)

Interestingly our intrepid EMC blogger is a reborn Mac user and also a pop culture movie fan with a penchant for SciFi, two of many things I suspect we have in common.  Closer to home, Zilla also references a fictional army in that blog post which is led by a character played by a very accomplished Canadian actor.

The world would be a lot less fun without Data ONTAP GX