Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Storage

    IBM, Hitachi Link Their Storage Units

    By
    eWEEK EDITORS
    -
    April 17, 2002
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      IBM and Hitachi Ltd. are teaming up to bring out new data storage hardware and software.

      The two companies late yesterday said they are starting a new company to develop hard drives. In addition, they will co-develop storage virtualization software and use the CIM (Common Information Model) specification to develop storage management products.

      The new company, for which a name hasnt yet been announced, will be located in San Jose, Calif. and will conduct research and manufacturing. It also will house sales and marketing employees and will be 70 percent owned by Tokyo-based Hitachi, which will make an undisclosed payment to IBM for its current hard drive assets, officials said.

      “Both Hitachi and IBM expect to source a major portion of their [hard disk drive] supply from the joint venture… The new companys management team is expected to include executives from both companies,” according to a joint release issued last night.

      Essentially this announcement means IBM is exiting the drive business, except for a minor stake in the new company.

      As for the day-to-day details of how the new company will be organized and what its product cycle will be like, “the details are still being worked out,” said Chris Andrews, a spokesman for IBM, of Armonk, N.Y.

      IBMs virtualization technology, which is the concept of managing disparate storage systems as one pool, will also be available to Hitachi. As early as 2000, IBM planned StorageTank to be that virtualization application, but that was delayed several times as Big Blues strategy shifted. The latest strategy will debut later this month as an in-band virtualization appliance, and IBM will let StorageTank primarily evolve as a storage resource management product, sources close to IBM said.

      How that will be reconcile with Hitachis own plan to add virtualization in Version 2.0 of its HiCommand software is unclear, especially since neither company has had much success versus incumbent leaders like EMC Corp., Veritas Software Corp., industry watchers note.

      Meanwhile, IBM and Hitachi will co-develop CIM applications, officials said, without elaboration. CIM, in theory, would solve most of the current storage management and interoperability problems, but vendor self-interests have notoriously plagued it.

      The announcement leaves many important questions unanswered. The move could be indicative of IBMs and Hitachis answer to the imminently merging of the storage divisions of Hewlett-Packard Co. and Compaq Computer Corp., especially because storage hardware is becoming a commodity and storage software is growing in importance, experts note. The IBM-Hitachi alliances also could rival the dominance of Hopkinton, Mass.-based EMC, which first acknowledged the management software trend late in 2001.

      “It certainly provides some opportunities to increase what already is a fierce competition with some of our rivals in the industry,” IBMs Andrews said.

      Hitachi and IBM officials said they will announce more details at a later date, according to the release.

      eWEEK EDITORS
      eWeek editors publish top thought leaders and leading experts in emerging technology across a wide variety of Enterprise B2B sectors. Our focus is providing actionable information for today’s technology decision makers.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×