emc

EMC, NetApp compete to buy Data Domain

This was originally posted on ZDNet's Between the Lines.

EMC swooped in Monday with a $1.8 billion, or $30 a share, offer for Data Domain.

The rub: rival NetApp already had a plan to buy the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company for $1.5 billion, or $25 a share.

EMC said its all-cash offer is a 20 percent premium over NetApp's stock-and-cash offer on May 20.

Simply put, EMC wants to acquire Data Domain in order to thwart NetApp's offer--or at the very least make the acquisition more expensive. Joe Tucci, EMC's chief executive, said … Read more

AT&T to offer cloud-based storage

AT&T is expanding its cloud-computing efforts with its new Synaptic Storage as a Service offering for enterprise customers, announced Monday. The service will let business users save and access their data via laptops, smartphones, and other Web-enabled devices.

With cloud-based storage, businesses can tap into their data as a service without having to set up their own equipment. They pay a monthly fee for storage as they use it. AT&T plans to offer the service on a limited basis starting this month, with its eye on a larger rollout to its U.S. Internet data centers … Read more

EMC: 'We expect IT spending to improve'

This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

EMC Chief Executive Joe Tucci on Thursday said the storage giant expects technology spending in the second half of the fiscal year to improve, and it noted that the worst is largely over.

Tucci's comments came amid EMC's earnings, which met expectations. In a statement, Tucci said:

As we look to the balance of 2009, we believe the global IT-spending environment has reached, or is very near, the bottom. We expect IT spending to improve in the second half of 2009, as customers will have better budget visibility, … Read more

EMC's V-Max builds up to 3 petabytes of virtual storage

EMC on Tuesday launched a storage array, the Symmetrix V-Max, that uses a new virtualization architecture to provide a linked pool of up to 3 petabytes of storage.

The main principle of the new system, aimed at data centers, is that each of the storage arrays has a connection to the Virtual Matrix Architecture (VMA) that allows them to be linked to other drive cabinets. The arrays can be built into a matrix, where every cabinet can talk to every other cabinet.

The V-Max is a "completely redesigned storage system and has definitely not been simply upgraded," said … Read more

Microsoft and EMC renew their vows

This following is a transcript of the full CNET interview with Tucci and Ballmer, which was conducted by Marguerite Reardon, reporting from New York, and Ina Fried, reporting from San Francisco.

NEW YORK--It was a lovefest Tuesday here at the Plaza Hotel where Microsoft and storage company EMC announced that they are extending their strategic partnership another three years.

The software giant and information management company have been working closely together for years, but they didn't formalize their relationship until 2006. Now things are going so well for the companies, they've decided to extend the formal relationship. As … Read more

Ballmer: Tech is economy's eventual savior

NEW YORK--The tech industry may not stop the economy from slowing, but it will be a big part of the eventual recovery, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said on Tuesday.

"Nothing is going to stop deleveraging; the economy has to reset," Ballmer said, as part of a joint interview with EMC CEO Joe Tucci. "At the same time you've got to say where do you get economic growth. The truth is, you only get economic growth from the following things. Population growth, inflation, productivity increases...and financial leverage."

There's no question, Ballmer said, that there … Read more

EMC, Microsoft team for share of IT budgets

NEW YORK--While tech spending has not evaporated, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said on Tuesday that most companies have mandated that their IT departments cut a significant percentage from their budgets.

"To save 5 (percent) to 10 percent, you have to save a little bit on a lot of things," Ballmer told CNET News on Tuesday, in a joint interview with EMC CEO Joe Tucci, "It's not like there's nothing new getting done. Some new projects are getting killed. There's pressure on vendors to reduce prices."

Tucci said he is seeing similar pressures due … Read more

For EMC, revenue record but cloudy outlook

EMC hit its mark of $4 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter, its highest-ever quarterly total.

The storage giant had said earlier this month, in its preliminary forecast for the quarter, that it expected to reach that level. On that same occasion, it announced that it would cut 2,400 jobs.

For the quarter ended December 31, EMC posted revenue of $4.02 billion, up 5 percent year over year and up 8 percent from the third quarter. Net income for the Hopkinton, Mass.-based company was $288.0 million, or 14 cents per share (including a 10 cent … Read more

Iomega ushers in the new year with an exclusive 1TB network drive

This year's CES saw the release of Iomega's Home Media Network Drive, a new addition to their line of external storage devices, joining the ranks of similar devices like the Iomega StorCenter and the Iomega StorCenter ix2, but with a few simple changes. First, the drives now come with an easy setup that lets users get up and running sharing media across a network in three easy steps: plug in the drive, power on, and install the included EMC LifeLine Home software that runs on the Linux operating system to contributes to the snag-free process.

Other features of … Read more