Storage giants EMC and NetApp have been fierce competitors for some time now, and so it’s not unusual to see dueling blog posts between them. However, nothing beats the back and forth blog posts we’ve been seeing since the bidding war began to heat up between them for deduplication specialist Data Domain. And even in light of today’s news that the Data Domain board is rejecting EMC’s offer in favor of NetApp, the dance might still continue, at least according to eWeek’s Chris Preimesberger.
While some of the bloggers are throwing zingers at each other over which is the better acquirer/place to work, the net effect, I think, has been a very interesting discussion around deduplication–which is fast becoming recognized as the most significant technology in these “do more with less” times.
Here are some of the most notable entries, first from EMC:
Storagezilla – Data Domain Plus Plus
In this post, ‘Zilla argues for the Data Domain acqui by laying out a potential scenario in which its deduplication technology becomes the “cornerstone” of a complete backup and recovery division for EMC.
Chuck’s Blog – Why do I work for EMC?
In response to a letter to Data Domain employees by Joe Tucci, CEO of EMC, Chuck Hollis writes quite eloquently about what makes EMC a great place to work.
The Backup Blog – Putting the Pieces Together: Deduplication Technologies
In this blog, Scott Waterhouse gets into the question of what is needed to get beyond tape backups. Or, as he succinctly puts it, “backup sucks.” (For our take on backups, please read Carter George’s post “Backup to the Future.”)
NetApp, meanwhile, came out swinging with these posts:
Jay’s Blog – Deduplicating Customer Choice
In this, he lays out an argument as to why the merger will make NetApp a stronger player, with an across the board deduplication solution for both nearline and backups. He also argues that EMC would have the overwhelming market share in deduplication for both VTLs and backup appliances if it won Data Domain. An interesting read overall.
Exposed Blog – It’s Always Calmest Before the Storm
In this, NetApp blogger Val Bercovici goes after EMC on the question of which is the better place to work–complete with a comparison table.
Extensible NetApp Blog – Ex-Chain Smokers
In this post, NetApper Kostadis Roussos posts a video that has also been making the rounds on Twitter from an all-hands NetApp meeting immediately following the initial announement that NetApp would be acquiring Data Domain. In it, Frank Slootman, CEO of Data Domain talks about why the acqui makes sense to him. He also makes some disaparaging remarks about EMC.
