back to article HP storage revenues declining as the dithering continues

HP storage revenues went backwards in its second fiscal 2015 quarter. The revenue from newer converged storage systems (3PAR, StoreOnce, StoreAll, etc) rose 5.3 per cent over the year to $356m (from $338m), but traditional storage revenues (EVA, MSA, tape) slumped 18.3 per cent to $384m (from $470 million). Overall storage …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Yes - HP should merge with EMC

    I work for a competitor and would love to see the chaos that comes from this.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Yes - HP should merge with EMC

      EVA and MSA are being phased out. In fact EVAs are no longer even sold. HP is yet to declare the replacements, which are coming.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Yes - HP should merge with EMC

        What are you talking about ? The EVA replacement is the 3PAR StoreServ 7000 series, which has included free online import for EVA systems since launch, so not quite the same upgrade dilemma facing Netapp Customers. BTW the same online import feature also includes online import for VNX and VMAX systems.

        1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
          Meh

          Re: AC Re: Yes - HP should merge with EMC

          "What are you talking about ?...." I suspect the original poster was pointing out the silliness of commenting on the drop in sales of a discontinued product.

          As regards HP replacing EVAs, the problem is what customers are replacing EVAs with. Whilst the EVA was a goldmine for HP (lots of expensive licences and support), the strides in technology mean what had to be done with by a pair of cab-and-a-half, $800K EVA 8400s can now be done by a much, much cheaper pair of four-shelf 3PAR 7400s. I suspect HP is holding marketshare but generating less revenue from each sale. It doesn't help that actually good and reliable clustering and DR tech is now available in from virtualising software like Vmware's, meaning HP can no longer justify the stiff pricing for HA features the EVA could demand. Why buy a pair of stonking 3PARs to replace your EVAs when Vmware and a few StoreVirtual units (which probably aren't counted in the HP Storage figures seeing as they're basically ProLiant servers with disks) can do the same job almost as well?

  2. Anonymous Coward
    IT Angle

    Is anyone doing well in the storage industry?

    Even the mid-sized players like Pure don't seem to be making money, or at least that is my perception from a distance.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Is anyone doing well in the storage industry?

      Nimble seems to lose more money, the more they sell. How long can they keep this up?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Is anyone doing well in the storage industry?

        At least until the dump trucks full of money stop showing up! :)

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    EVA and MSA replacements....

    (yes, I'm a bit biased, working for HP)

    I don't know on what planet you have been living..but EVA is indeed obsolete since December 2013, however the replacement product, the 3Par 7000 series was launched in December 2012..so its been there for a while now.. and there is an AFA version of it as well, the 7450 AFA... and FYI : is selling like hell..

    As for the MSA, the P2000 G3 MSA has been replaced by two new products, the MSA1040 and the MSA2040. With the latest technologies, MSA2040 has 'converged controllers that allow customers to choose 1 or 10Gb iSCSI , 8/16Gb FC just by using the right SFP's. Or use SAS controllers with 12Gb SAS frontend. MSA1040 is more limited, with fixed iSCSI or FC ports (read : cheaper). Both those new boxes have been updated (albeit optional on MSA1040) with the latest technologies :a virtualization layer with wide striping, thin provisioning, space reclamation, automatic tiering. the MSA2040 that supports SSD drives also has SSD read cache and optional performance tiering between SSD and SAS drives (archive tiering between SAS/MDL SAS is standard). and there is more to come. So yes, we killed EVA.but got a fantastic replacement.. and as for MSA..MSA2000 is now in its fourth generation.. and is there to stay for a while longer !

    1. Smoking Gun

      Re: EVA and MSA replacements....

      What happened to the P6300 and P6500?? Essentially EVA right, thought they still sold them?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: EVA and MSA replacements....

        P6000 AKA EVA, if it's sold at all would be by exception into existing Customers with very specific internal qualification requirements. Some Customers can't simply switch product without long qualification cycles and lots of red tape. Regardless of how simple or cost effective it would be to move EVA data to 3PAR technology their internal processes just don't move quickly enough.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: EVA and MSA replacements....

      *Yawn* while you are impressing the propeller heads, can someone tell me how to make my environment more malleable, always up and operational vs capital intensive? See these two lines i've drawn up and to the right? Help the bottom one go down (- hint, that's the cost structure). And let me leverage applications for HR, my sales force, and devops in the cloud.... Yada yada yada.

      That's the guy (or gal) who gets executive ears and cashes checks now. Two years later, you've been yada'd out of the conversation.

      Have fun on the titanic. Its a slow list, but in the end the ship is going down.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Block storage is dead

    Block is commodity. Companies are starting to realize Object Storage is the way to go and make money. The ones who release good products first will have a lot of market share!

  5. hmas

    Storage simply isn't the cash cow it used to be; vendors are seeing first hand that customers simply don't have the same brand loyalty and are having to discount hard and fast to win deals.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Revenues down yet at least held market share (we actually believe it's gone up slightly) so not the disaster it appears. All the Gartner flash numbers are rubbish - if HP sells an all flash 7200 or 7440, Gartner don't count it. But an all flash 7450 and they do. We (yes I work for HP, disclaimer) sell a lot of all flash 7200's.

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