Hitachi Looks to Refresh NAS

Hitachi Data Systems is expected to refocus its NAS platform around an OEM deal -- most likely with BlueArc, industry sources say.

Hitachi wouldn't comment on plans for a NAS deal, but there has been talk for weeks that it's shopping for an OEM partner. Sources say a deal with BlueArc will be struck soon, and the new NAS will be available as part of an aggressive 2007 product refresh.

"We believe HDS is close to signing an OEM agreement with a private vendor in the high performance NAS market," Wall Street analyst Tom Curlin of RBC Capital Markets wrote in a note to clients this week. "Under this scenario HDS probably would eliminate existing NAS products, which seems logical given this vendor's enterprise focus."

When asked if his company was going to sign a NAS OEM deal, HDS CTO Hu Yoshida said, "We don't comment on rumors and speculation. We can't comment either way."

Hitachi resold Network Appliance NAS until coming out with its own NAS blades that plug into its TagmaStore high-end SAN systems in April 2005. (See NAS Up Next for Hitachi.) Earlier this year, HDS added NAS filers for its midrange Workgroup Modular Storage (WSM) and Adaptable Modular Storage (AMS) systems.While several sources tell us a BlueArc deal is all but sealed, one insider close to Hitachi says there is still sentiment to go in another direction.

"The BlueArc deal could get through, but several Hitachi people don't like it because they fear customers cannot trust Hitachi's fourth attempt at NAS, BlueArc is a niche product, and they seem to like competing vendor ONStor," says the source.

HDS does not break out NAS revenue from its storage totals, but it apparently hasn't been able to make much of a dent in a market dominated by Network Appliance and EMC, which together hold more than 70 percent of the NAS market, according to IDC. IBM's OEM deal for NAS gear with NetApp puts HDS at a disadvantage against its two biggest storage competitors -- EMC and IBM.

BlueArc hasn't exactly threatened the dominance of NetApp and EMC, but has made enough headway in the enterprise as a private company to attract more than $200 million in VC funding. (See BlueArc Returns to Trough.) BlueArc might get a nice boost from having an established player rebranding its Titan 2000 systems.

According to one industry insider, the deal with BlueArc would also include BlueArc selling Hitachi controllers with its NAS systems -- similar to and perhaps replacing BlueArc's OEM deal with LSI Logic's Engenio. (See BlueArc, Engenio Announce OEM.)Dave Raffo, News Editor, Byte and Switch