NetApp takes the moral high ground in flash war

Vendor admits startup rivals are stealing the limelight but insists it is quietly snapping up more and more customers

NetApp has conceded that its success in the flash market is being overshadowed by rival startups stealing the limelight, but insisted it is still seeing sales surge.

The vendor said it has already upgraded its most-recent release from its E-series flash range due to its success and is looking at using the technology in its core FAS (Fabric Attached Storage) offerings too. But it admitted its increasingly prominent flash credentials are not what the firm is most well known for.

"The success of EF540 and EF550 [E-series flash products] is a secret compared to the amount of airtime that much smaller flash vendors are getting," said NetApp's UK channel partner sales director Pete Rawden (pictured).

"This is partly because [startups] are new and shiny and interesting in the marketplace in terms of it being a new story, but in terms of volume of sales... we think we are really winning in that flash space. Albeit that gets hidden by our success with our ongoing FAS products [too]."

He said all-flash products are giving NetApp's UK partners a wealth of opportunity to boost profits, and that the firm is enjoying flash success with customers in the education, healthcare, finance, manufacturing and media markets.

Despite the splash storage startups are making, success still depends on sales, Rawden added.

"I would say we respect all competition but that some of the new players entering the market with a single message are getting probably more attention than they deserve," he said.

"In the tech world, everyone likes something new and shiny, and yes, resellers are interested in what is developing... but customers are still working with and buying from their established vendors.

"[Startups] are grabbing attention in terms of mindshare and in the IT press but the key measurement of success is selling products and we are being very successful and it is very encouraging."

The likes of Pure Storage, X-IO and Nexenta have all been keen to shout about their success and how they are targeting the big boys such as EMC and NetApp, but Rawden says his firm rises above the noise.

"We try not to get into tit-for-tat stuff," he said. "We'd rather focus on customers. That's what we are doing and we are seeing the benefit."