Sony Enters NAS Fray

Sony Electronics announced today that it will start shipping its first three network attached storage (NAS) products in the upcoming fourth quarter (see Sony Unveils Network Appliances). But analysts question whether the company can make an impact in this already crowded market.

Let's take it from the top. The FSV-E1 StorStation has a capacity of 80 gigabytes and is intended for the small office/home office (SOHO) market. It is based on the Linux operating system and will cost $1,300 when it ships in October. Future versions of the device will be equipped to link to household electronic equipment, such as security systems, Sony says.

The slightly more upscale FSV-M1 has four hard drives that can be set up as redundant arrays of independent disks (RAID) for data security. Designed for branch offices and small corporate workgroups, it handles up to 480 gigabytes of data and is compatible with gigabit Ethernet. The product can transfer data to Sonys AIT tape libraries. Sony has not yet set pricing on this unit, which is slated to ship in November.

Sony’s third new model, the BSV-M1, is a network backup server that will come bundled with Sony’s rack-mountable AIT library. The device backs up 2 terabytes of data on the library. Sony hasn’t yet priced the BSV-MI, which also is slated to ship in November.

The new lineup sounds terrific, but analysts say Sony will have its work cut out to stay ahead of the pack.For instance, aside from its compatibility with the Sony tape libraries, the FSV-M1 is a rather generic product, analysts warn. Like a slew of other offerings, it is based on server appliance software from Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT).

Quantum Corp.'s Snap Server Division and Maxtor Corp. offer similar products. Major PC makers, such as Dell Computer Corp. (Nasdaq: DELL) and Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE: CPQ) also are making or reselling low-end appliances.

Analysts say the sheer volume of competitors has caused companies like Network Appliance Inc. (Nasdaq: NTAP), whose entire focus is on NAS, to gloss over the low end of the market. Network Appliance hints that its low-end product is sold merely to round out its line for existing customers with larger storage requirements.

Analysts also say Sony lacks name recognition in the industry. “Sony doesn’t carry a strong storage brand,” notes IDC

analyst Brad Nisbet, Ultimately, he says, Sony may fare better if it OEMs its NAS gear to a major computer maker.

On the other hand, as more companies enter the low-end NAS market, price competition will be keen -- a factor that could work in Sony's favor. “This will be a distribution game more than anything else,” says Arun Taneja, an analyst with The Enterprise Storage Group Inc.“And Sony does high-volume distribution very well.”Sony's prospects may be better for some of its products than others. IDC's Nisbet, for instance, is optimistic about the BSV-M1. He says Maxtor offers a similar backup unit with a disk that can be connected to a tape library. "But the BSV-M1 is more of a complete solution,” he adds, because it’s integrated across the rest of Sony's product line.

— Tom Davey, special to Byte and Switch, http://www.byteandswitch.com