EMC's Game-Changer
CRN Senior Editor and storage maven Joseph F. Kovar takes a look at the EMC small business blast in a cover story that features a Q and A with EMC Chief Executive Joe Tucci and a CRN Test Center first look at the updated EMC Retrospect 7.5 backup and recovery software. What&'s exciting about the EMC effort is the breadth and depth of the product line and the new channel program. The new SMB versions of software stalwarts Storage Administrator For Exchange, RepliStor, Visual SRM and eRoom combined with the rock-solid Dantz Retrospect backup recovery product and EMC&'s respected hardware products provide all of the ingredients, both software and hardware, solution providers need to build world-class, aggressively-priced small-business storage solutions. Back that up with a new multitiered channel program that includes training, sales tools, co-op and sales targets that actually make sense for smaller VARs and you have the makings of an effort that could lead to a massive SMB share shift to EMC.
Tucci has done an amazing job transforming EMC from a direct-focused hardware behemoth into a software- and channel-savvy vendor with a much stronger product line and many more partners. Now Tucci is driving EMC headlong into a whole new small business market opportunity. Storage is one of the areas where small-business-focused VARs are seeing big gains. Up until now, EMC has simply not thrown its weight around in this market segment.
The EMC offensive is aimed straight at the heart of rivals CA, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Symantec. EMC has taken all these companies to the enterprise storage woodshed and is now locked and loaded on small business with a full product set. “When we enter a market, we would like to be the leader in that market,” Tucci said. He said EMC is putting a lot of “firepower” behind the Insignia line. That firepower is good news for VARs looking for a storage partner and bad news for EMC&'s competitors.
What do you think of EMC&'s game-changer? Let me know at (781) 839-1221 or via e-mail at [email protected].