As always Wall Street is trend following. The financial guys don't see the fundamentals of the integration, or the risk for the other providers of integrated services.
Dell is playing chess and is seeing many moves ahead while IBM, Cisco, Amazon, Citrix, HP, CSC, SAIC, etc. are looking at what is the next move.
This picture shows what Dell is becoming with EMC:
Apple is now a consumer IT shop, Dell is going to be the exclusive Small and Medium Business, (SMB) and Enterprise IT shop.
Compute:
Dell today with Workstation to virtualize the end user PC for easier OS management
Storage:
EMC
Network:
Dell, VMware NSX, security; SonicWall
Cloud:
Elastic computing, move seamlessly to and from Dell VMware cloud
Security:
RSA is part of EMC. This is just so big in so many ways.
Operations:
Perot Systems bought by Dell in 2009, they will do the integration and management
Who needs to move based on the Dell design:
HP and IBM:
Frozen with breakup, (HP for PC's, IBM for servers).
Use of Free Cash Flow to return to shareholders via buy backs.
Moving 60% of HP labor force to India. IBM ditto.
Integration divisions (HP, old EDS), are locked into high labor with each unit unique and requiring specific vertical expertise (compute, storage, network).
Bottom-line check mate.
Cisco, Juniper, Brocade, and Citrix:
No one will do the right thing, buy NetApp or EMC with higher bid.
For Cisco the buying of NetApp is a better deal.
Problem for both is that VMware already won the Enterprise, so even if Cisco buys NetApp they still will run VMware, they will still need RSA.
Microsoft:
They have a different game. Microsoft plans in the new server OS releases, break apart the server software applications into two parts, HyperV, (virtualization engine) and the OS/application (like Active Directory).
So if you want all of the features of Active Directory you will need to delete VMware and go with Microsoft HyperV to get all of the functionality of Active Directory.
You could go with VMware, but then your Active Directory software will not have all of the bells and whistles.
This design was developed when Microsoft went after Harvard Graphics, WordPerfect, Lostu123, and DBase. The difference this time is that the breakup of the Operating System is not going to fly. The battle will be in the courts globally and Microsoft will lose.
Office was better, HyperV is not. Every enterprise in the world will have to drop billions in VMware development and experience for HyperV, they all will go to court to stop Microsoft.
These guys are all sliding down the hill anyway. As IaaS grows the Dell deal just speeds up the process.
WAN providers, AT&T, Verizon, CenturyLink, Comcast, Time-Warner:
This is as big for them as IT hardware companies. Virtualization needs two things speed and Layer-2.
Currently Enterprise clients use MPLS-VPN from the telephone companies. Dell is going to tell the clients to move to Carrier Ethernet.
Cisco has pointed out to the telephone companies that Carrier Ethernet from 2.5MbE to 10GbE operational costs are 75% less than MPLS.
With Comcast and the cable industry moving into the Enterprise space we will see the Carrier Ethernet explosion take place. 10GbE to Dell VMware Cloud equal to 10GbE between your data centers. Edge at 100MbE to 1GbE. All virtualized
The telephone companies are going to be stuck in the MPLS-VPN marginal cost structure and stay with more expensive, slower Layer-3 topologies.
Disruptive Innovation:
George Morton, Ph.D Madison Solutions, Inc.
Principal Infrastructure Architect
Compute, Storage, Network, Availability, & Security
Dual CCIE 18532, Router/Switch & Security
