Dell and EMC Deal Receives U.S. FTC Clearance

In October of last year, #Dell announced plans to acquire #EMC in a deal worth roughly $67 billion. EMC's board of course approved the transaction, but that was just the first step in many of what is a complicated process with so many moving parts. Today we've learned that The FTC has granted their approval for the deal, one more regulatory hurdle has now been cleared. In a joint release, Dell and EMC went on to say the transaction is on schedule with the original terms and an EMC shareholder vote to approve is expected this spring. There are still lingering regulatory approvals required, which are in process.

During the merger process, neither company has slowed their pace from an operational standpoint. EMC has been especially active, pressing forward with several initiatives including the VxRail joint effort with VMware, made cloud updates, contributed widely to open source initiatives, and has been kicking butt in our lab with their #VCE ScaleIO Solution. They also have a major launch event February 29th with an emphasis on flash and a big reveal on what they've been up to with DSSD. For their part Dell has recently launched a new ultra-dense enclosure for their server group, made new Azure connections,enhanced the thin client portfoltio and has more enterprise news later this week. 

“We are delighted that, with this key regulatory milestone now complete, we have taken another step on our path to becoming a combined company,” said Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO of Dell Inc. “Our teams are engaged in integration planning and all transaction-related workstreams are on track.” 

“We are very pleased to receive FTC clearance as this takes us a step closer to realizing our vision of creating a global privately-controlled technology company. Together, our investments in R&D, focus on innovation and world-class sales and service will enable our customers to accelerate their journey to hybrid cloud and digital transformation,” said Joe Tucci, Chairman and CEO of EMC.

http://www.storagereview.com/dell_and_emc_deal_receives_us_ftc_clearance

The VMware Virtual SAN is the company's software defined storage play and is primarily aimed at Nutanix.

#VMware launched a new release of its Virtual SAN platform as it rounds out its #software-defined stack for private and public cloud infrastructure.

The VMware #VirtualSAN is the company's software defined storage play and is primarily aimed at Nutanix. The company said that it has more than 3,000 hyper-converged infrastructure customers since VMware Virtual SAN launched 21 months ago. VMware Virtual SAN 6.2 will be available in the first quarter with a starting price of $2,495 per CPU.

Software defined storage is shifting the landscape for vendors. More storage is being consumed, but the traditional system vendors in the market are seeing slowing growth. The cloud is partly to blame, but there's also the hardware end of the equation. Software defined storage means that arrays can be built with commodity x86 servers. As a result, those sales that were once recognized by storage vendors shows up as a server sale. VMware is using the trend to work both the storage and networking markets.

"Our vision is that everything can run off of a x86 node with one building block that cascades out at scale," said Gaetan Castelein, product marketing and management chief for VMware's software-defined data center unit.

VMware's so-called hyperconverged stack, which collapses storage and networking and compute into one box, features vSphere, vCenter Server and Virtual SAN. The stack is available through server vendors and soon as an appliance via EMC's VCE unit.

Here's a look at the stack and distribution model. VMware has 11 server manufacturing partners for precertified systems.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/vmware-updates-virtual-san-converged-infrastructure-stack/

Dell looking to spread the channel word to partners 'missing opportunity'

#Dell is looking to better spread word of its enterprise focus to the channel as 2016 brings changes in cloud and opportunity for channel partners, according to Jim Ganthier, VP and general manager of engineered solutions and cloud at Dell.

The #Dellchannel currently represents 40 percent of Dell's route to market, according to Ganthier, who said the vendor aims to increase awareness of its efforts outside the consumer space and into enterprise and "dramatically" grow its channel in terms of partner number, revenue and profitability.

http://www.channelnomics.com/channelnomics-us/news/2444650/dell-looking-to-spread-the-channel-word-to-partners-missing-opportunity

Tech-stock wreck destroys $514B this year

Tech-stock wreck destroys $514B this year.

The bad year for stocks is getting worse by the minute - and tech investors are feeling the brunt of the pain.

The 462 information technology stocks in the broad Russell 3000 index have shredded a total of $514 billion this year thanks to their average decline of 13.4%, according to a USA TODAY analysis of data from S&P Capital IQ.

Crashing stocks have served up a brutal reminder why betting on speculative stocks in the technology sector is dangerous business when investors get nervous about growth. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index is the worst hit major index of the major ones investors watch - sliding 12.3% this year while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 is off just 7.8%.

BIGGEST SHAREHOLDER WEALTH DESTROYERS IN TECH

Company, Symbol, Market cap destroyed this year ($ billions), % ch. ytd

Apple, AAPL, -$55.7, -9.5%

Alphabet, GOOGL, -$52.8, -9.9%

Microsoft, MSFT, -$40.7, -9.3%

Intel, INTC, -$24.2, -14.9%

Cisco Systems, CSCO, -$20.8, -15.1%

MasterCard, MA, -$15.4, -14.2%

LinkedIn, LNKD, -$14.6, -49.4%

Visa, V, -$14.4, -7.7%

salesforce.com, CRM, -$12.8, -24.7%

International Business Machines, -$10.8, -8.1%

* Information technology stocks in the Russell 3000

http://tiny.iavian.net/8umt

Hitachi Data Systems Delivers Next-Generation Hyper-Converged, Scale-Out Platform

Today #Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) announced its next-generation Hyper Scale-Out Platform (HSP), the HSP 400 series. The new HSP 400 series comes with native integration with the Pentaho Enterprise Platform. This native integration will help the HSP deliver a sophisticated, software-defined, hyper-converged platform for big data deployments. Supporting big data blending, embedded business analytics and simplified data management, the HSP 400 combines compute, storage, and virtualization to deliver seamless infrastructure.

http://www.storagereview.com/hitachi_data_systems_delivers_nextgeneration_hyperconverged_scaleout_platform

CRN Exclusive: Brocade CTO Bets On Hyper-Converged Partnership With Nutanix To Drive Channel Sales

#Brocade Communications is placing its bets on hyper-converged solutions quickly expanding into larger enterprises -- and says that growth will help fatten channel partners' wallets.

The San Jose, Calif.-based networking vendor has formed several strategic technology partnerships with the likes of hyper-converged leaders #EMC with #VSPEX Blue and most recently #Nutanix. Because of its Nutanix alliance, forged last week, Brocade's switches and fabrics can be deployed alongside Nutanix solutions targeting enterprises and the data center.

"We are really very pervasive in this space as a networking underlay for these solutions," said Ken Cheng, Brocade's chief technology officer and senior vice president of corporate development and emerging businesses. " #Hyperconverged is going to grow very dramatically."

http://m.crn.com/slide-shows/networking/300079578/crn-exclusive-brocade-cto-bets-on-hyper-converged-partnership-with-nutanix-to-drive-channel-sales.htm

SDN Market to Experience Strong Growth Over Next Several Years, According to IDC

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to a recent International Data Corporation (IDC) forecast, the worldwide software-defined networking ( #SDN ) market — comprising physical network infrastructure, virtualization/control software, SDN applications (including network and security services), and professional services — will have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 53.9% from 2014 to 2020 and will be worth nearly $12.5 billion in 2020.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160203005954/en/SDN-Market-Experience-Strong-Growth-Years-IDC

Research Shows Migration from VLANs to Software-Defined Networking

"Software-defined networking ( #SDN ) is having a profound impact on businesses," starts out a new report based on a survey of IT pros involved with the disruptive technology approach.

One of these impacts is on the usage of traditional virtualization techniques such as virtual local-area networks (VLANs), according to the new report, "SDN Growth Takes IT Infrastructure by Storm," from QuinStreet Enterprise (available for free upon supplying registration information).

Noting that VLANs have been around for more than 30 years, the report said that 43 percent of survey respondents already are using VLANs, a much higher percentage than that reported for newer SDN and network functions virtualization (NFV) technologies. However, the outlook going forward shows more growth for SDN than VLANs, said QuinStreet, which compared the two technologies.

https://virtualizationreview.com/articles/2016/02/03/sdn-vlan-survey.aspx?m=1

IBM blesses Catalogic's ECX copy data management

#Catalogic has finally managed to get #IBM on board its in-place #ECX copy data management train.

Big Blue and Little C are saying that the following IBM arrays are supported with ECX:

#Storwize hybrid arraysSAN Volume ControllerFlashSystem V9000SoftLayer – with ECX helping to reduce wasteful and redundant data storage in IBM's public enterprise cloudSpectrum Protect (Flash Copy Manager) for snapshot management

Catalogic says that what's unique is the capability to not just move the data to the SoftLayer cloud, but also to automate the entire process of bringing up live application environments in the cloud in support of functions like DR, Dev and Test or Analytics.

The CAPEX and OPEX savings are claimed to deliver a >300 per cent return on investment for clients. It is expected to accelerate SoftLayer adoption by IBM's enterprise storage customers.

Oddly, and unexpectedly for a storage service that says it reduces storage resource consumption, this development should, Catalogic claims, drive new or expanded storage sales based on the additional use cases it enables.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/02/02/ibm_blesses_catalogic_copy_data_management/

CIO Network: Role of Hadoop in a Connected World

#Cloudera CEO Tom Reilly describes how businesses are using #Hadoop to make sense their customer and business data. He speaks with WSJ's Rolfe Winkler at the 2016 CIO Conference in Half Moon Bay, Calif.

    

http://www.wsj.com/video/cio-network-role-of-hadoop-in-a-connected-world/1A99C02C-A40C-4B09-8930-5A25A5C4E375.html

Hadoop At 10: Milestones And Momentum

Hadoop At 10: Milestones And Momentum

#Hadoop, an open source framework for wrangling unstructured data and analytics, celebrated its 10th birthday in January. Here's a look at the milestones, players, and events that marked the growth of this groundbreaking technology.

The year was 2006. #Facebook was a two-year-old startup company, run by a 21-year-old in a hoodie. Some entrepreneurs had joined together to launch a new social media service called Twitter, and in December the world was still six months away from seeing the introduction of the #iPhone. It was a different time.

Consumers weren't carrying around sensor-laden, camera-equipped data collection devices everywhere they went and posting every thought, emotion, and meal to social media. When companies thought about data, they thought about structured data in ERP and CRM systems, and how they could create better business intelligence reports for executives.

It was in this environment that a new technology called Hadoop was born. It started as a framework to support a search engine project called Nutch. Nutch's creators needed a way to store and process the massive amount of data collected for their search engine to use, so they created a new software framework based on inspiration gained from a couple of papers published by growing Silicon Valley upstart #Google.

http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/software-platforms/hadoop-at-10-milestones-and-momentum/d/d-id/1324149

Yahoo for Sale Finally Admitting the Obvious

Who cares how #Yahoo ’s business performed in its fourth quarter?

The main point: It’s officially for sale.

Said Yahoo chairman Maynard Webb: “The Board also believes that exploring additional strategic alternatives, in parallel to the execution of the management plan, is in the best interest of our shareholders. Separating our Alibaba stake from our operating business continues to be a primary focus, and our most direct path to value maximization. In addition to continuing work on the reverse spin, which we’ve discussed previously, we will engage on qualified strategic proposals.”

This is stating the very obvious. Strategic alternatives is code for: Come on down, #Verizon! Hey there, #AT&T! All private equity guys welcome here!

Meanwhile, over on another planet, CEO Marissa Mayer said that Yahoo was going to keep trying to turn itself around.

“Today, we’re announcing a strategic plan that we strongly believe will enable us to accelerate Yahoo’s transformation,” said Mayer. “This is a strong plan calling for bold shifts in products and in resources.”

http://recode.net/2016/02/02/yahoo-for-sale-says-yahoo-finally-admitting-the-obvious-also-q4-results/?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRoku6XBZKXonjHpfsX56%2BotUaa3lMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4DSsBkI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFQrXFMahm1LgOXRc%3D

Dell launches password protector straight to channel

#Dell newest identity and access management solution, #DellOne Identity Safeguard for Privileged Passwords, is now available through #DellSecurity channel partners.

Dell Security says it is helping partners identify a “significant customer opportunity” by complementing and expanding their current network security portfolio, so organisations of all sizes, especially SMEs, get access to a complete suite of security solutions from one source.

http://www.channelbiz.co.uk/2016/02/03/dell-launches-password-protector-straight-to-channel/