Storage gets sexy, again.

• Author: LAINSON, SUZANNE
• Position: Fibre Channel storage area networks - Brief Article

Exabyte and Storage Tek don't generate the excitement they once did because their stocks have been in the tank for so long. But their industry, data storage, has gotten sexy again, and both companies -- plus several others in Colorado -- are in the thick of it.

This time around, there are two buzz phrases to identify the trend: storage area networks and Fibre Channel. SANs are a subnetwork of storage devices attached to a switch, which is attached to multiple servers, all of which can access the storage devices. Fibre Channel, a "pipe" that allows high-speed data transfer through multiple, linked devices, can be used to link the servers and storage facilities.

Fibre Channel SANs may be the next big thing in data storage.

"The capabilities that are opened up with this type of technology are huge," says Anne Skamarock, a senior analyst with Enterprise Management Associates, a Boulder management software and services analyst that conducts research for the SAN industry. "There are challenges to be met before it is generally usable. It takes time to build the hardware and write the software. When those are developed, it will be more widely adopted."

As companies move toward Fibre Channel SANs, they will need lots of new products and lots of technical expertise. Colorado companies are carving up the supplier market in multiple ways, variously offering hardware, software, consulting and management services.

Michael Lewis, general manager of Exasource, a Fort Collins recruiter familiar with the new technology, says that while most of his clients are in California, "I've had people ask me if Colorado is viable for the type of people they're looking for. And I say, Sure. A number of California companies have established design centers here."'

Emulex, a California-based supplier of Fibre Channel host adapters, announced in September that it was setting up an engineering design center in Longmont. Ron Quagliara, senior vice president of research and development, highlighted two reasons: the wealth of talent in the area and its...