Sun goes after server-independent storage market

06.02.2006
After its acquisition of Storagetek, Sun Microsystems sees some promise in the server-independent space as it gears up for competition in the local storage market, an area dominated by rivals EMC Corp. and IBM.

Sun acquired Storagetek for US$4.1 billion middle of last year. With the addition of Storagetek, Sun is looking to leverage on its strength as a systems vendor that can provide all the pieces to a user's storage infrastructure, from hardware to software.

Raymond Siow, sales director for Sun's data management group covering the region including the Philippines, said Sun is also looking to rely on Storagetek's strength in the server-independent space.

Siow noted that Storagetek follows a "sort of an EMC" model, building storage solutions designed for either mainframe, Unix, and other server configurations. Prior to its merger with Sun, Storagetek had local clients including power firm Manila Electric Company (Meralco) and manufacturing giant San Miguel Corporation, said Siow.

"Our merger with Sun means more commitment to our clients in the Philippines rather than previously working through a single distributor," Siow said in an interview with reporters. "Our traditional markets have been telecoms and banks. We hope to take advantage of Sun's presence in other sectors like government."

Sun also hopes to tap into what Siow calls a "compliance market" of users looking for content management and archiving solutions to adhere to international regulations like Sarbanes-Oxley.