StorageTek Says it Will Carry on With SANs Without 3Com

Computergram International, March 30, 1999

Storage Technology Inc, which announced its cooperation over storage area networks with 3Com Corp only two weeks before 3Com decided instead to concentrate on its core markets, says it now won't pursue the alliance as originally intended. "We are disappointed that 3Com will not be participating in the market to the extent previously anticipated," the company said in a statement.

It said it had hoped to build up a substantial relationship with 3Com and that there is still a possibility that the two companies will work co-operatively on utilizing the 3Com Host Bus Adapter. StorageTek had initiated joint testing and certification for SAN interoperability with 3Com products, but says its investment in the deal has been limited so far to equipment for its Vista interoperability lab, plus staff time and marketing. StorageTek had planned to embed the 3Com Host Bus Adapter into its SAN product line, which includes the StorageNet Access Hub, Fivre Channel Hub 1000 and Fibre Channel Switch 4000, as well as its disk arrays and tape libraries. It says it will continue to test and certify other vendors' products, and that its strategy of establishing open SAN standards means co-operation with all vendors "and is not dependent on a single vendor."