Byte and Switch: The trend right now is to drive more margins from software as hardware is being commoditized, à la EMCs AutoIS strategy. Is it difficult to be banging the drum about purpose-built, expensive hardware when the rest of the market and, supposedly, customers are all talking about software and better managing the hardware they already have? [see EMC Mulls Software Buys].
Allen: A hardware engine is absolutely required for pure performance: Its as simple as that. But this does not preclude BlueArc from having a software management engine that sits on our hardware. We will partner with software providers for things like virus scanning, resource management, and virtualization, but I need to identify which applications make sense I dont know yet. It is more important to find out where we play with the rest of the storage community. I think we should partner with companies that do high-end SANs, like Hitachi Data Systems, LSI Logic, EMC, and the like. These companies have some low-end NAS capabilities but nothing like the performance of BlueArcs silicon server.
Byte and Switch: But if every startup on the block is trying to partner with EMC, why are they going to bother with BlueArc?
Allen: I was at EMC in the early days, remember, when Dick Egan [founder and chairman emeritus] was still running the show. He had a sign above his desk that said "It's the product, stupid!" The problem is, hes not read it recently. Youve got to have a product that really makes a difference and perhaps BlueArc can help EMC with this.
Byte and Switch: Maybe, but EMC's world revolves around software now, so surely BlueArc would be low down on its list of possible partners?
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