Seagate finally bit the bullet and has released a line of flash storage devices for the enterprise market. Being a first effort, Seagate did the right thing and teamed up with someone who knows what they are doing, Virident.
The idea is simple, Virident makes enterprise level flash storage devices, Seageate doesn’t. Seagate has a massive distribution channel, a widely known name, and lots of money. Virident lacks some of those things. In theory, by working together, they can play to each others strengths and make more money, strengthen their channel presences, and make a better name. Does Virigate sound better than Seadent? Male performance enhancement drug or denture cleaner, not a good choice either way.
Back to reality, Seagate made a ‘strategic equity investment’ in Virident which says they don’t want to buy the company, but don’t want a competitor to pull the rug out from under them either. This allows Seagate to play in a fast growing market that they were locked out of and bid for more contracts using entirely Seagate devices. Virident gets immediate access to many more markets than they could hope for before, and gets a wad of cash up front too.
In the end, it doesn’t change much unless (until?) Seagate buys Virident. Jumping in to the enterprise flash storage market as your first real stab at the non-volatile market space is not a bright move, so Seagate definitely took the right approach here. How it plays out in the end will depend on Seagate’s intentions. Will they come out with an in-house device, or will they simply buy the rest of Virident? Time will tell, stay tuned for the next chapter in this Seadent/Virigate drama.S|A
Charlie Demerjian
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