EMC and NetApp will really do battle in 2007, and not just on the product front. They each want to steal some market value from the other.

Some big public player will go private. EMC, Symantec and even Cisco are private equity possibilities. There is enormous private equity on the sidelines, and a lot of these guys are sick of living by the quarter, looking for really big deals to do.

Happy new year!!

Send me your questions -- about anything, really, to sinceuasked@computerworld.com.

Steve Duplessie founded Enterprise Strategy Group Inc. in 1999 and has become one of the most recognized voices in the IT world. He is a regularly featured speaker at shows such as Storage Networking World, where he takes on what's good, bad -- and more importantly -- what's next. For more of Steve's insights, read his blogs.