Top 10 Showcases Top Trends

In the latest Byte and Switch list of Top 10 Storage Startups to Watch, we've made an effort to profile not just noteworthy new companies in the storage space, but also the trends they accentuate.

After all, there's not much point in watching any startup unless it's got the potential to make an impact something that depends on solving meaningful problems.

So what are the problems? To figure that out, I have turned our Top 10 on its ear, listing the issues highlighted by each of the innovative suppliers we profiled. Here's the list, in no particular order:

These general listings recall most of the top trends for 2008 we predicted at the start of the year. They are also interrelated and can apply to multiple suppliers.

Cheaper storage networking, for instance, can be achieved with virtualization, as implemented by vendors like Reldata. In some cases, services from the likes of Nirvanix are cheaper to run than silo-based applications, particularly in view of operating costs.Less hardware is usually cheaper when it comes to storage, so the ability to create an iSCSI SAN from servers and existing gear, as StorMagic purports to do, has the potential for savings in several directions – including trimming the "green" costs of data center equipment.

Consolidated I/O also could reduce the storage footprint. With Nuova Systems' technology, for instance, a converged network adapter will replace the myriad cards currently required to link blade servers to iSCSI, LANs, and Fibre Channel networks. Xsigo envisions virtualizing the I/O process itself, with resulting reductions in hardware outlay. And Fusion-io's storage-equipped PCIe card could speed up I/O while eliminating the need for extra disks.

By boosting storage pros' ability to manage data, especially email, companies like Racemi and Teneros will help customers reduce operating costs and buy time for modernizing their storage infrastructures.

If the hurricanes and power failures of recent memory have taught IT pros anything, it's that guarding data is an environmental as well as technological concern.

You get the picture. Our Top 10 is as much about trends as about startups. With this in mind, it's interesting to check back at our past Top 10 startups, and the follow-on "where are they now?" coverage we gave them, to see what the key trends have been over time. To help things along, you'll find the listings of all companies we've covered and the links to appropriate articles in the table below:Table 1: Byte and Switch Top 10 Startups: Past & Present

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