EMC Corp wants a little help from its foes.
The Hopkinton, Massachusetts-based data-storage company is making overtures to share software code with its rivals, including IBM Corp and Hitachi Data Systems. The goal is to allow their storage cabinets to function together within networks run by big customers like banks and airlines.
But some data-storage hardware makers aren't so eager. They fear software that meshes with EMC's specifications would boost sales of EMC's own equipment. And they have other ideas about how to connect their gear -- or, to use the industry term, to promote "interoperability."
For instance, IBM's data-storage unit backs several independent trade groups it says will lead to more neutral specifications. It has also begun to share code with Hitachi. One major player that has agreed to share code with EMC is Compaq Computer Corp.
But it would be "a little bit misleading" to say the deal represents an endorsement of EMC's broader strategy to make its software integral to more computer networks, said Don Langeberg, Compaq marketing director.
EMC's difficulties at striking alliances frustrate some industry insiders like Steve Duplessie, a Milford-based consultant to most of the big storage companies.
The better storage devices interoperate, the more likely customers are to buy them.
The lesson has been driven home in other technology sectors, from handheld computers to database software. Joining EMC "would give IBM a better chance to sell hardware, and the customer wouldn't have to make a choice on software," Duplessie said. "The customer would win. So it doesn't make any sense not to do it."
Indeed, many companies that purchased large volumes of technology equipment in the late 1990s, first to accommodate growing sales, then to prepare for Y2K and finally to launch e-business operations, are still working to deploy their updated networks more efficiently.
Having machines built by different companies communicate with one another is a top priority.
EMC's senior executives agree. They want to strike terms on which the company would provide hardware competitors access to its "application programming interfaces." These are essentially hooks that allow software to control specific pieces of hardware.
"We would welcome swaps with any and all the competitors," said Don Swatik, EMC vice president for alliances. He notes that more than 90 software companies already share access to EMC's code -- including Tivoli, an IBM unit independent of its data-storage hardware division.
But even as they reach out, Swatik and others dismiss the software capabilities of some of their rivals. Aside from Tivoli, "It's very clear the software IBM has for their products is grossly inadequate," Swatik said.
How it manages relations with its other companies in the software arena poses an important test for EMC, which has seen its financial footing erode. It faces tougher competition on price and technical capabilities and is struggling with flat sales in a market it once thought recession-proof. Some fund managers have even suggested EMC ought to sell out to IBM, its larger rival, eliminating lots of competition.
Executives at both companies call such a deal unlikely, but it's clear EMC wants to reposition itself in a way that has the potential to bring the two competitors closer together.
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