COMPANY PROFILE New space for storage
Roger Walton, VP EMEA for storage specialist X-IO Technologies, calls for a more balanced approach to storage and a sharper focus on quality over price.
X
-IO was created as part of the Seagate Advanced Storage Array
division in 2002 by Steve Sicola and Richie Lary. Their goal was to create the next generation of storage that would deliver new levels of availability, speed, reliability and performance, while significantly reducing the typical power consumption and footprint. Seagate invested over $100 million in the architecture and continued to refine and improve on the patented Intelligent Storage Element (ISE) technology that it had developed.
The ISE incorporated an innovative disk canister technology that also reduced service events and departed from the industry’s standard three year system life. “We are a meticulous engineering led organisation that prides itself on its mature enterprise products,” stated Walton. “Our aim is to deliver I/O (input/output) density that eliminates the trade-offs between storage capacity and performance.”
X-IO is still part owned by Seagate and backed by Oak Investment Partners, one of the largest venture capital firms in the world. Last year X-IO opened sales and distribution in Korea, China, SE Asia, India, Germany, Scandinavia and France; and
the firm is adding Japan, Colombia and Venezuela to its distribution network this year. “We are working towards 400 per cent growth in international revenue during 2013,” added Walton. “Through our network of distributors, resellers, integrator partners and ISV alliances we are delivering the message that there is a credible and viable alternative to current storage thinking. Organisations don’t need to over-provision capacity in order to reach required IOPS thresholds. Or, vice versa, there is no need to pay for more IOPS than needed to meet application and capacity requirements.”
Everyone is looking for ways to improve efficiencies and reduce costs, so the hot market is affordable and reliable performance storage for virtualisation, OLTP and BI, noted Walton. “We’re seeing more and more customers that want improved economics, more flexibility and better choice,” he added. “The traditional vendors are being challenged, and with VMware and Microsoft positioning their software defined data centre and software defined storage, why be locked into proprietary technologies that invariably cost more?”
According to Walton, storage has failed to keep pace with the growth in
Roger Walton
computer performance over the years, and as a result there have been several so called ‘high performance storage’ start-ups recently all offering what appears to be limitless performance. But at what cost, he asks? “A balanced approach between performance and capacity that is realistically affordable is required, and that’s where X-IO’s proposition sits,” he stated. “And with free five year warranties and simple integration with the growing capability of VMware’s and Microsoft’s hypervisor tools X-IO is well positioned in this market. Our partners have realised this and are seeing clear differentiation.”
Real-world applications are neither performance- insensitive nor capacity- insensitive. To operate efficiently and reliably they require balanced performance with realistic, affordable capacity. X-IO’s storage arrays are engineered from the ground up to drive more performance with more reliability and less
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cost of ownership, noted Walton. As the ISE family continues to grow, X-IO has recently launched the Archive 110 platform to meet the challenge of high availability in the lower I/O rate performance market. Also new is a next generation file storage product, the File Storage Controller (FSC) 2200, a Microsoft certified Cluster-in-a-Box appliance that brings together Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2012 and ISE.
“There is a huge change in the marketplace called cloud computing, and while it’s well overdue there are nevertheless many organisations set to fail both on the supply side and the consumption side,” believes Walton. “It’s clear that a more informed due diligence is needed on both sides, with a more educated and informed seller and buyer to emerge. My worry is that decisions made on economics alone are far too prevalent and there isn’t enough focus on quality.”
Just a minute with Roger Walton...
What talent do you wish you had? I wish I could play the guitar (especially as I am in a band).
What do you fear the most? Even though I have worked in sales for 25 years it doesn’t get any easier and I still fear the end of quarter period, regardless of our success.
What possession could you not live without? My old tin coffee cup that has been with me through thick and thin.
Who was the last person to thank you and why? My children for being their mechanic, bank manager and hotelier.
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What is your biggest career achievement? To assist a number of organisations develop their European strategy. It’s not an easy place to be successful but I understand the nuances of the different cultures and processes in the region to respond appropriately.
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