Normally the customer has to wait on the SSP for utilization reports -- i.e., how much capacity is being used by a particular department, whether backups ran successfully, and how the overall SAN is performing -- but using Storabilitys software, the customer can see this information immediately, says a company spokesperson.
Its hardly surprising this is happening, given the number of organizations that have sprung up in the SSP sector over the past year or so. Our VC survey found no fewer than 14 companies, with more than $500 million in venture capital guzzled among them, all clamoring for attention (see Venture Capital Survey).
Analysts' lofty market projections have only served to spur the investment activity. IDC
predicts the global market for storage services will reach $5.5 billion in 2003, while Salomon Smith Barney says it will exceed $8 billion by then. These numbers seem wildly optimistic, considering whats actually going on at ground level.
This all leaves at least another 10 SSPs out there trying to figure out how to make money.
Jo Maitland, Senior Editor, Byte and Switch http://www.byteandswitch.com