January 1, 2002

The Dozen 2002

Veritas Software Corp.

Mountain View, Calif.

Storage has that thud factor. After all, we're talking about something the world is accumulating faster than the six billion or so of us can breathe: data. Data, in all its forms, is the legacy of so much important activity: transactions that make us rich or poor, massive files that explain how and why we buy things, pictures and documents that form our eternal legal records. It's got to be heavy.

Unfortunately, the thud the storage industry made in 2001 was the impact of falling revenues and profits. Entering the year nonplussed by the crashing sound of dot-coms, the industry figured that it was safe. Companies won't cut back, not with all that data flowing in, right? Alas, the bad times finally caught up with the storage industry. The sour economy didn't help, but the direct cause looked more like what happened with fiber optics — a glut. Meanwhile, the industry became mighty crowded; server suppliers successfully recharged their storage offerings, and new players entered sporting lower-priced wares.

In fact, IT needed a breather to think carefully about what has become a most strategic issue. What's the most productive and cost-effective way to exploit all of this storage capacity, which sure as the sun rises will eventually be full of data? How do we prepare for disaster recovery — now a front-burner issue since September 11, 2001? Micro- and macro-economic issues aside, the storage industry is undergoing tremendous technological turmoil as it evolves to support networked computing. Some organizations are holding back until they get a clearer sense of the future.

IN STORAGE, VERITAS

Many of the best answers are coming from Veritas Software. Led by CEO Gary Bloom, the one-time Oracle wunderkind, Veritas commands 39 percent of the networked-backup network recovery market, according to Gartner Inc. Somewhat quietly, Veritas has grown to become one of the largest software companies in the world. Today, the company is focused on software for managing data — something that's not so heavy when it's flying around on networks in response to those who need it. With so much intelligent enterprise activity riding on generating value out of data resources, "Veritas" could be the word emanating from many a CIO's lips.

"Storage virtualization" is the solution du jour, and Veritas is right on top of it. Virtualization is the evolutionary leap that transformed servers, databases, and other technologies; now it's storage's turn. That makes for an exciting time in physical data management, but the technology soup is thick: Fibre Channel, IP Storage, InfiniBand, NAS, and SAN are key ingredients. The bottom line is that virtualization will drive down costs, thanks to software that can turn storage management into a more flexible and strategic adventure. An expanding Veritas looks like a leader.

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MAJOR MOVES IN 2001

· Released its portfolio on the HP-UX 11i operating system, continuing the company's expansion to platforms beyond Microsoft and Sun

· Introduced Veritas Database Edition 3.0 and Advanced Cluster virtualization solutions for Oracle 9i

CLASSIC CUSTOMERS

· Sony Music Entertainment Inc. uses Veritas Cluster Server on Sun Solaris to support its "bitmusic" Internet music distribution services

· Pfizer Inc. uses Veritas Volume Manager, File System, and other tools with EMC Corp. hardware and Oracle database servers to manage its massive data access requirements

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