Where Have All the Storage Applications Gone?

Does the title of this blog have a familiar ring? Sing it to the tune of Where Have All the Flowers Gone? by Pete Seeger. OK, I know there may only be a few hundred thousand of you out there that remember the song from 1961, but the question is real. Where have all the storage applications gone?

We have had promises from EMC, HP, IBM, and others over the past 10 years that we would be able to run business applications at the storage system level. Some vendors have stated applications will run in LPARs on the storage controller; others have said applications will run on blade servers combined in the same frame as the storage system. By any method by which it is accomplished, when it is accomplished, it will be an amazing feat indeed.

Todays requirement in the Storage-as-a-Service (SaaS) space, as well as Cloud Computing, would benefit greatly by having the ability to move routine application tasks off the server and on to the storage platform.

OK, maybe it remains part of the "moving the bottleneck" conundrum, but think about the load taken off the network (both SAN and IP) traffic if vendors really deliver this capability. Moreover, think of the grid-like processing environments that can be set up on a global basis to process and move information much faster. Delivery of this capability will be a plus for global enterprise environments.

The pent-up demand for distributed applications at the storage platform level is real.At the present pace, HP will take the lead this year when it delivers the ExDs9100, which it claims will support applications running on blades within a frame consisting of blades and storage.

I suppose it’s obvious that I believe this functionality is an imperative for the storage industry. Additionally, I believe we will see storage platforms running applications as standard fare within enterprises by 2011. This functionality will be evolutionary vs. revolutionary in its deployment. In addition, over the next two to three years I can foresee multiple virtual servers running business applications at the storage platform level.

The Trainer Test Results: I believe vendors are learning. HP is in a unique position to take the lead by deploying the ExDs9100 application processing and storage platform. As this evolution continues, other vendors will enter the market and deliver unique innovation. In my opinion, EMC and IBM will follow with competitive offerings delivering a range of choices for users. It may be time to talk with your vendors and understand their roadmap for these combination application processing and storage platforms.

— Tom Trainer is founder and president of analyst firm Analytico. Prior to founding Analytico, Trainer was managing senior partner at Evaluator Group, and has also worked at EMC, HDS, Auspex, and Memorex-Telex during his 30-year career in IT.

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