The SNIA Subtext

1:15 PM -- SAN DIEGO -- Storage Networking World -- Results of the 2006 Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) End User Council survey are in, and storage vendors should be ashamed of the results. (See Users Blast Vendors in SNIA Survey.)

The survey of 387 users, many from large financial outfits, the bellwether of user satisfaction for many industry suppliers, shows that customers are using more vendors and liking them less. Just four percent of respondents from large companies trust their vendors enough to take their word on a fix. And a shocking 47 percent of those polled said vendor-recommended upgrades either didn't solve a problem or made it worse.

It seems storage suppliers are doing their customers as much harm as good.

The role of the SNIA in all this is clear: Users want and need a source of third-party verification and testing. There's also a call for interoperability standards, particularly in management software.

But the SNIA didn't ask users how well the organization is actually helping in these areas.It's a question worth asking. The group is undoubtedly making headway in some areas. At the SNW show here, the SNIA has touted momentum behind its XAM Initiative. (See SNIA Forms Alliance, Propels XAM, SNIA Picks Exec Director, and FCIA, SNIA Team Up.) What's more, there's progress in unifying the Aperi and Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S) projects.

But despite its acceptance by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) earlier this year, SMI-S in particular continues to be dogged by claims that it provides "too little, too late" in the way of management interoperability and that it leaves too much leeway for vendor lock-in.

SNIA officials counter this accusation with claims that any spec takes time to implement, that SMI-S continues to take root. They point to the solid work that's been done and continues across various groups in alliance with the SNIA.

It would be worth it to ask, however, whether the results of this year's survey in any way point to a lack of ability on the SNIA's part to make this happen fast enough. Things are getting harder, not easier, for storage pros. It's time for the organizations that claim to represent them to take tougher action on their behalf.

Mary Jander, Site Editor, Byte and Switch0