I have to say – except for the awful name, I am impressed with this thing!  Clearly a lot of slideware, but the intention is impressive. Before the Pillar lovers and EMC haters get all ticked off at me, let’s step through a few of their marketing talking points:

I suppose they saw a 25% drop in Symmetrix sales last quarter because their customers were waiting for this one, huh?

I am impressed that they’re copying (albeit only an intention so far) the Axiom and its key features.  It is kinda strange too, they haven’t replaced the Sym IV, but say that the new one does everything that the old one does…must not be a compatible upgrade…

Clearly EMC marketing wants to make this sound new and exciting.  But I have to question a few things. They call it “purpose built.” Purpose built? That’s so 1990’s!  The whole industry has moved away from that model. The Axiom was designed specifically NOT to be purpose-built. EMC has a history of this (the Centera and EDL come to mind). Even better, it’s purpose built for the virtual data center. Last time I checked, one of the biggest driving forces to implement virtualization is to decrease cost.  Buying a Sym certainly doesn’t jibe with that!

These are just a few of their “innovations” or marketing selling points. Frankly, there is no doubt that a) this announcement is way over-hyped, and b) it’s way overdue. As a good storage analyst told me “You have to give them credit though – their marketing team is unabashedly boisterous and aggressive.”

I am kinda at a loss for what else there is to say that hasn’t been said. While it may be revolutionary for EMC, it’s not for the industry.  I suppose us small guys can be happy that our ideas are eventually adopted by the big guys….but doesn’t that say something about being a “big guy”?

If you want innovation, ease of use, and the features a Pillar Axiom has now, look at the Pillar Axiom now, or EMC in 3-5 years.