Technology is Dead – Thoughts on Enterprise Infrastructure

One of the more perplexing aspects of spending time in Sydney & Melbourne as of late is the non-stop rivalry between the cities.  Coming from Boston (and rival NYC), this originally seemed like old news (big city, smaller city, sports teams, etc.).  But digging in, this is more than a sports-team rivalry, something brewing in the fabric of each city culture.

At first, it’s subtle commentary from people on both sides. Nonchalant jabs to the groin, “I detest Melbourne”, “I’d never live in Sydney”. While I really don’t mind either way, it’s amazing when you see both cities are brilliant in comparison to let’s say, MOST port cities in the rest of the world.

So while my taste of both places is fresh and not-yet tainted by experiential bias, here is a collection of naïve first impressions.

One of the  shocking realizations of a global move is the cost of moving your animals, versus the cost of moving your belongings. In our case, we fit our ’stuff’ sans cars into a 20′ shipping container.

The container contents wrapped, packed like an intricate puzzle, either scanned or unpacked by customs, then finally unloaded and unpacked at your door. With the exception of cost and overall time to ship (10-12 weeks via ocean freight), just about like any other move, assuming you don’t have to have your golf clubs fumigated for dirt/grass debris at 800 per item!

The cats have to go through a battery of rabies tests and certifications even to qualify for shipment to Aus, and the only way to get them port to port is via certified animal handlers and air-cargo shipments.  This would explain the absence of poodles and toy-dogs on your long-haul flights from LAX->SYD. And only after that, they get to enjoy 60 days of quarantine in a government run facility.

All up, your relative weight and space ratios to cost are orders of magnitude higher for cats versus goods. Now if you could just put your cats in a container with some bulk quantities of food and litter, you could ship about 4oo cats and turn a mean profit!

We’re packing up and moving to Sydney soon, so the blog now evolves to cover the Aussie adventure.

Before we head out of town, here’s a list of our favorite digs in the Cambridge/Somerville neighborhood.  Like many Boston inhabitants, we spend most of our time in our neighborhood north (or south) of the Charles. An in the spirit of Boston, our neighborhood is definitely the best and I’m a self proclaimed expert:

• East Coast Grill – seriously good fusion of southern cooking, fish, and known worldwide for ‘Hell-week’ where you can pay to eat food that will burn your throat and bowels. It’s loud, the staff is cool and friendly, there’s a good attitude about the whole situation.
• The Biscuit – I hate biscotti, but the Biscuit converted me to love biscotti. Especially if you luck out and it’s coming straight out of the oven. I’m pretty sure we spend way too much money here on coffee, muffins, sandwiches for the beach days, and yes, lots and lots of biscotti. Sorry kiddo, we ate your college fund.
• Capone Foods – Most people I know have no idea this business exists. Capone’s is a little Italian food shop filled with all the good stuff. Some of the pre-made lasagna becomes a staple for the lazy, and the empanada’s paired with cheese, olives, and basalmic could make you weep like a little Argentinian baby. There are dozens of fresh pastas on the menu, and the meat/cheese/olive section absolutely rocks. Basically, if my venture overseas doesn’t pan out, starting a Capone’s franchise will be next on the list.
• Mt. Auburn Cemetery – First, you gotta get past the ‘I see dead people’ aspect of taking your kids on walks in the cemetery. This cemetery is a landscape architects dream. The terrain is undulating and filled with beauty. You just have to go take a long walk there to appreciate it. Do it before you die.
• Diesel Cafe – I’ve clocked some serious hours here amongst the professional coffee shop workers union of America. Good coffee, great staff, and yes mostly lesbian’s running the show. It’s loud, it’s frenetic, it’s big, and a perfect place to work.
• Bloc 11 Cafe – Part II of the Diesel empire. It’s mellow, includes a gas fireplace in the back, and for the non-claustrophobic you can sit in the original 1900’s bank vaults.
• Christina’s Spices – I know exactly where this place is and I still walk right past it. While marketing may not be their specialty, these guys have some great spices. Buy them loose, buy the little glass containers, and you’re ready to rock. Quality blows away store-bought and definitely check out the dozens of salt and pepper varieties.
• Redbones – Once we had a company Christmas party here and one guy (who was on a forced peas and carrot’s diet) ate so much he was hospitalized. Now that is seriously good American BBQ. Food comes out fast, you eat, you pay, you get out and make room, or you get kicked out. This place is a machine.
• Forest Cafe – Most Mexican food around Boston is not far from dog food, but these guys make some incredible dishes. The website actually makes the decor look nice. If there was an award for ‘awkward male bathroom’, we would have a winner here folks. But while updates to the decor possibly faded out in the mid-seventies, the food and staff are great. I mean, eat there a few times a week great.  The food is priced to sell, 2 margarita’s and you’ll be operating at 5th grade level English, 3 and you’re a dribbling mess with a smile. Don’t forget to try the Tres Maria’s with the braised beef. OK, salivating, next topic.
• Reliable Market - Sort of looks like a run-down mini-mart gone large from the outside, but inside you have a few thousand Asian import items and another world of food. This is the place to buy any type of food to cook any kind of Asian food. 50 lb bags of rice, no problem. 12 pack of Sapporo, check. Fresh cut Salmon, daily. Bags of frozen dumplings, done. Don’t let the lack of English labels or fish heads scare you, this place is a gem. And where in the world can you buy sushi grade Salmon for 6 bucks a steak?
• Christophers – Andouille and beef became friends and decided to be a burger in this friendly outfit. It’s always busy, the staff are great, and if you have a little one there are few places as friendly to take your kid to a ‘pub dinner’. It’s Americana with a nice range of draft beers. This part of the Toad conglomerate is worth a visit.
• The Druid – One of the best bar’s I’ve ever been to, and for Boston this would be the best.  The bartenders and staff hail from County Clare and make a great atmosphere. It’s never too crowded because you can’t possibly fit many people inside. You can be social, you can be loud, you can be anti-social, and nobody really cares.
• The Toad – My buddies fall in love with the Toad, my wife will no longer go to the Toad with me. Live music in a bar the size of someone’s garage 7 days a week and no televisions. It was the first pub I found in Boston and will likely be the last before I go.
• Ole – Gourmet Mexican – fresh guacamole, kicking habanero salsa on request, and a great blend of seafood and meat entree’s. It’s loud, it’s really fun, and if you get a seat at the window you have the best seats in the house.
• Oleana – All organic menu and a love affair between a farmer and a cook. Beautiful Mediterranean inspired dishes, and whatever you do, double up on the whipped feta and try to not lick the plate.
• RF O’Sullivan’s – There is a feud-like debate in the family about the best burger in Boston. I reckon if you’re going to do some damage, do it properly at this place and join the local crowd. The black and blue burger paired with onion rings and a cold one…I can feel my arteries hardening just thinking about it.
• Mayflower Poultry – Where else can you buy 50 lbs of dark chicken meet for an over-loaded summer BBQ and know that it’s going to be good and cheap? Nothing like the fresh stuff and some mango marinade. The ‘Fresh Killed’ sign is the beacon on Cambridge street.

Boston is funny. When we first got here in 2002 the immediate reaction was ‘crap, we just made a huge mistake’. It was cold, you had little old ladies driving Buicks and flipping you off with road rage, driving anywhere was insane, and the environs were ‘crusty’ in comparison to the old home Seattle, and the only view was of ‘Uncle Buck’ across the street.  But with time we settled in and looking back, now our lives revolve merrily around city parks, coffee shops, and all of these great places to eat.

Here’s a thought:  What if IBM made a bold move and decided to drop all storage OEM products and take a market position centered on XIV?

After shockers in 2001 when IBM ditched the disk manufacturing business, sold the kit and kaboodle to HDS, IBM ventured into a variety of OEM relationships with LSI, NetApp, and HDS (disk) to recompile the mid-range, NAS, and tier-1 storage line-up respectively.  Things like SVC (San Volume  Controller) are still in the mix and strategic, but only with the acquisition of XIV did IBM really change-up the game and their market position.

Here’s why IBM should consider an XIV centric strategy:

• There is a massive industry shift to reduce tier 1 storage dependency
• Commodity storage is the center of the market, and tier 2 storage is dominating the landscape (block, file, backup targets, etc.)
• Leverage NTAP gateways and deduplication feature-set for file data
• Position as a T1 alternative and T2 mainstay, versus being all things to all consumers

I have to agree with a lot of Moshe’s statements, that the storage industry hasn’t exactly cracked the code of commodity storage in the last 10 years.