Mixed messages

NetApp kicked off its Partner Executive Forum in a somewhat sullen mood, but by the end of the gathering in Warsaw, the firm was back on the offensive. Hannah Breeze reports

"Why Warsaw? Warsaw is an interesting city. It is a city that has been at the centre of a number of conflicts over its history. But it's a city that has earned its name as the ‘phoenix city' because it has always risen out of troubled times to go on and re-establish itself. In fact, today it is ranked as an alpha city across the globe alongside Washington and San Francisco."

That was NetApp's senior director of EMEA marketing Ashley Robinson's explanation as to why his firm chose the Polish capital city to host its Partner Executive Forum (PEF). Although he did not say it explicitly, it appeared to act as a metaphor for NetApp's current position in the storage market.

In its Q4 results issued at the end of last month, NetApp disappointed Wall Street as net sales fell annually by seven per cent to $1.5bn (£660m) for the three months to 24 April. Over the same period, net profit slumped 32 per cent to $134.9m. Soon after the results were published, the firm announced former product man George Kurian would take over as chief executive as his predecessor Tom Georgens was ushered out. Kurian said "regaining traction in the channel" is a key priority.

At NetApp's partner gathering in Budapest last year, the firm ditched its mild-mannered approach to marketing and instead adopted an aggressive new attitude. But a year on, and it at first appeared the firm had run out of steam on this front.

James Bond was the theme of the Warsaw get-together, which NetApp's general manager for EMEA Manfred Reitner said was fitting for his company's position in the competitive landscape.

"James Bond and we at NetApp have a lot of commonalities in how we are seen in the market," he said. "One, for example, we like happy endings. I like happy endings and there are always happy endings in James Bond. Second, there is a lot of sex appeal, and that is why I am standing here! The third one is there are always ugly enemies out there trying to beat Mr Bond. There are the big ones with the iron teeth and the little ones who are biting them everywhere. It is very common for us - there are ugly guys trying to eat us everywhere."

Those "ugly enemies" were mentioned a lot. Aggressive start-ups in the all-flash space were on the minds of partners throughout the event and dominated a Q&A session in which partners could ask NetApp anything. To combat what one NetApp exec referred to as "those little dogs that are biting at our ankles", it unveiled a new flash incentive scheme for the medium-sized and small business (MSB) space, which will go live in the coming weeks.

But even that flash of aggression appeared to be short-lived. On further questioning about the incentive scheme, Thomas Ehrlich, vice president of partners and pathways EMEA admitted it should have happened sooner and said the firm is struggling to "sell it sexy".

"We are going to proactively push flash technology to the limit," he said. "Our technology is good enough, the ecosystem is good enough - the resellers are waiting for it. But again, if there was one thing you could challenge me on: should we have done this six or eight months ago? Yes, probably, but looking back does not get you anywhere. But you will see a huge push and a huge focus from NetApp embracing flash."

Toughening up

In the final keynote speech of the event, in his closing remarks, NetApp president Rob Salmon was fired up and appeared keen to dispel any idea that NetApp was on the back foot.

"I want to be very clear when I stand up here," he said. "I did not come here to play defence. Even the question in the previous [partner Q&A] session about how are we going to defend ourselves against the small guys - that is not the question.

"The answer is: it is time to play offence. I think about where we are with the portfolio and it is the strongest is has ever been. Ever.

"When I think about all-flash - all-flash is not a company. That's ridiculous. It is part of a use case."