People are talking about the burgeoning data center turf wars. EMC Corp. (NYSE:EMC) chief executive Joseph Tucci said Oracle Corp.'s (NASDAQ:ORCL) $7.4 billion
acquisition of Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ:JAVA) raises the stakes in the battle for control of the corporate data center market. Dow Jones noted that while EMC is working to make its storage systems compatible with the
software of several providers, Oracle wants to supply customers with a full range of products.
Then there's IBM Corp. (NYSE:IBM), which may be
boosting ties with Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:BRCD), diversifying its partnership relationships in communications, where Cisco has been a longtime collaborator. Reuters said IBM already sells some Brocade equipment, such as storage-related devices, but will bolster the relationship by selling switches and routers made by Foundry Networks, which Brocade acquired late last year.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) recently
acquired privately held Tidal Software Inc. for $105 million. The deal is part of
Cisco's plan to boost its data center capabilities, putting it in direct competition with longtime partner IBM as well as Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ). Cisco chief technology officer, Padmasree Warrior, was even quoted as saying, "We're going to compete with HP. I don't want to sugarcoat that." She cited a change in the landscape of who companies compete and partner with.
And earlier this week, chip developer Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ:BRCM)
proposed buying storage equipment maker Emulex Corp. (NYSE:ELX) for $764 million in cash. In its letter to the Emulex board, Broadcom said the architecture of data centers is evolving rapidly, and customers' desire for system consolidation is driving the need for converged networking solutions. -
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