X-IO rains on EMC's flash parade

Storage vendor brands EMC's imminent product launch 'worrying' and rages at lack of warranty

Outspoken hybrid storage vendor X-IO has taken a swipe at EMC's imminent flash product release.

Tomorrow, storage market leader EMC is set to make its Xtremio all-flash product generally available and claims its enterprise storage array provides substantial performance improvements and is purpose built to take advantage of flash technology.

But rival X-IO, which insists its hybrid storage products combine the best of both flash and HDD technology, has been quick to pour cold water on EMC's strategy.

X-IO's international solutions development director Gavin McLaughlin said UK firms are being bamboozled by overhyped marketing myths about performance, reliability and power consumption.

"[We] note the launch of EMC's all-flash array product with both interest and a touch of bewilderment," he added.

"Putting aside the worrying efficiency statistics of the XtremIO product – both in terms of power utilisation and price vs performance statistics – the intended life cycle of all EMC products has to be bought into question when there is a lack of an inclusive five-year warranty on these arrays.

"Surely if EMC believe they can last five years then they'd include such a guarantee?"

He said that flash technology itself is not enough as a standalone offering.

"With the increasing market-wide realisation that flash is a tool, not necessarily a solution to the challenge of performance storage, it has to be wondered why EMC have launched this as a standalone product."

It's not just EMC that McLaughlin has had a go at recently. When storage start-up Pure Storage burst on to the scene earlier this year with its flash products, he rubbished the company's claims that HDD storage was less reliable than flash.

CRN put X-IO's comments to EMC but the storage giant declined to comment.