Compaq Clarifies WideSky Position

Ezine

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Last month we reported that Compaq was a supporter of WideSky, EMC's storage management middleware API. Not so, says Mark Sorenson, Compaq vice president of storage software and solutions.

"We are not a member of the WideSky program, we never have been, and we do not believe it is in the best interest of our customers," Sorenson says.

True, Compaq and EMC swapped APIs into their respective arrays, enabling Compaq software to manage EMC arrays, and vice versa.

But Sorenson says that the API swap was only done to tide Compaq over until SNIA ratifies CIM. IBM, Hitachi Data Systems, and Sun have recently voiced their support for the storage management standard.

EMC, let it be known, also says it will support CIM. James Rothnie, CTO, admits that WideSky may ultimately become obsolete if CIM comes to fruition. But he points out that it may not and is unlikely, in any event, to be that useful in the next few years.

"EMC is betting that standards will take a long time to materialize," making WideSky immediately attractive, says Michael Zisman, IBM general manager for storage software. IBM, meanwhile, is "betting that standards are at the tipping point," Zisman says.

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This was first published in June 2002

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