Top Ten Freshened Up

Here at last – is the all-new Byte and Switch Top Ten Private Companies list. Sorry about the delay, but it's only just stopped snowing here in New York (brrrrrrrrr) so our spring refresh is more like a late-winter pruning.

Zambeel Inc. for No. 1, then?

Well, probably not. We've had so many emails and calls about layoffs at Zambeel, once a promising next-gen NAS startup, it's hard to tell if there's anybody still there. (The latest word: "They let go all but three employees," according to one industry source.) The VCs are apparently "repositioning" the company in a "Gosh, didn't we tell you, we're a [insert latest trend] company?" mode. We had hoped the new direction might be bovine steroids or a new no-bake pasta, perhaps, but sources say Zambeel will be a pure software play or possibly do something with Serial ATA. Booooo-ring! (See SAN Startups on the Block and Zambeel COO Skedaddles.)

How about TrueSAN Networks Inc. for No. 2? [Ed. note: Don't be NASty! Or SANty!] (See Source: CNT Nixed TrueSAN Bid and TrueSAN Goes Belly-Up.)

Cutting to the real news, here are the highlights of our newest Top Ten list of storage networking startups:

Two honorable mentions are in order for two startups that just missed making the list (this time) and are worth keeping an eye on: Sistina Software Inc., makers of a clustered file system based on Linux, and EqualLogic Inc., a maker of IP SAN storage arrays.

Wait a second! you might expostulate. Linux?! Don't worry, we haven't turned into tree-hugging hippies just yet. But there's plenty of evidence to show that Linux is making headway in the enterprise. One of IBM Corp.'s (NYSE: IBM) biggest resellers, Mainline Information Systems, is reselling Sistina's software; and the startup is not short of cash either, having just landed $10 million in Series B funding in February, following strong customer traction (see Sistina Seeds Growth).

Meanwhile, EqualLogic doesn't technically have any paying customers yet for its so-called "self-managing" storage arrays on iSCSI. But the Nashua, N.H., startup has shipped its box to several beta customers, including a major bank that told us they were very impressed with it (see EqualLogic Draws Bank's Interest). With the iSCSI specification now approved and endorsed by Microsoft, there's little standing in the way of its adoption. And EqualLogic has done enough to win the support of three major VCs, including Charles River Ventures, TD Capital Technology Ventures, and Sigma Partners, which stumped up $15 million for EqualLogic last month (see EqualLogic Tallies $15M).

As always, this Top Ten list follows the rules we've already established, including the precondition that all of these companies must have shipping products and revenue-producing customers. Tricksssssy startupsssss in ssssstealth need not apply (see our previous list, Top Ten Private Companies: The Fall Lineup).

Disagree with our choices? Tough luck. Come up with up some better picks and post them to our message boards. And of course, keep the insider information coming – we love that.For a full writeup of who's on and who's off the list, click on the name of a company below:

Table 1: Top Ten Private Storage Networking Companies

— The Editors, Byte and Switch