MagicQuadrantforIntegratedSystems

11August2015ID:G00266749
Analyst(s):AndrewButler,GeorgeJ.Weiss,PhilipDawson,StanleyZaffos,ErrolRasit,HirokoAoyama

VIEWSUMMARY
Theintegratedsystemmarketisincontinuousflux.TraditionalbladeandSANbasedintegratedsystems
arenowbeingjoinedbyhyperconvergedintegratedsystems,whiledisaggregatedsystemsandsoftware
definedanythingaresettotransformthemarketfurther.

MarketDefinition/Description
Integratedsystemsarecombinationsofserver,storageandnetworkinfrastructure,soldwith
managementsoftwarethatfacilitatestheprovisioningandmanagementofthecombinedunit.The
marketforintegratedsystemscanbedividedintothreebroadcategoriesofintegratedsystems,someof
whichoverlap.Thesecategoriesare:
Integratedstacksystem(ISS)Server,storageandnetworkhardwareintegratedwith
applicationsoftwaretoprovideapplianceorappliancelikefunctionality.ExamplesincludeIBM
PureApplicationSystem,OracleExadataDatabaseMachineandTeradata.Notethatthisresearch
doesnotevaluatethe"stack"componentsofanysolutiontherefore,thisresearchshouldnotbe
usedasaprimarybasisforsoftwareselection.
Integratedinfrastructuresystem(IIS)Server,storageandnetworkhardwareintegratedto
providesharedcomputeinfrastructure.ExamplesincludeVCEVblock,HPConvergedSystemand
LenovoConvergedSystem(formerlyPureFlex).
Hyperconvergedintegratedsystem(HCIS)Tightlycoupledcompute,networkandstorage
hardwarethatdispenseswiththeneedforaregularstorageareanetwork(SAN).Storage
managementfunctionsplusoptionalcapabilitieslikebackup,recovery,replication,deduplication
andcompressionaredeliveredviathemanagementsoftwarelayerand/orhardware,together
withcomputeprovisioning.ExamplesincludeGridstore,Nimboxx,Nutanix,Pivot3,ScaleComputing
andSimpliVity.
Allintegratedsystemcategoriescanbedeliveredasanintegratedreferencearchitecture.Reference
architecturesareproductsinwhichtwoormorevendorscertifyaspecificationforalogicalsetof
hardwareand/orsoftwarecomponentsand,ideally,offeracommonsourceofserviceandsupport.
Referencearchitecturescanformanyoneofthecategorieslistedabove,andvalidintegratedsystemscan
targetspecificreferencearchitectureopportunities.
Asanadditionaltypeofreferencearchitecture,hyperconvergencevendorsmayengagewithoneormore
hardwarevendorstocreateasolutionbasedontheirownsoftwarestacksupportedbythirdparty
hardware.ExamplesincludeCiscoworkingwithMaxta,AtlantisComputingandSimpliVity,andDell
workingwithNutanix.Somehyperconvergencevendorsonlydeliverreferencearchitecturesthroughtheir
softwarevalueadd(a"bringyourownhardware"approachtocomplementtheirsoftwaresolutions).We
excludesuchapproachesfromthisresearch.
Someformsofreferencearchitectures,suchasEMCVSPEX,allowvendorstogroupseparateserver,
storageandnetworkelementsfromamenuofeligibleoptionstocreateanintegratedsystemexperience.
Thisreferencearchitecturetypemaybebasedonaloosepartnershipbetweenhardwareandsoftware
vendors,orbetweenmultiplehardwarevendors.Supportandescalationmayalsobedividedacross
multiplevendors.Referencearchitecturesthatonlysupportavarietyofhardwareandsoftware
componentsaremorevariablebytheirnatureand,therefore,moredifficulttoassessversuspackaged
integratedsystems.Deployingthesereferencearchitectureswithoutasinglepointofsupportmayalso
resultinavariablesupportexperiencethatmakesitdifficulttoassessthemversuspackagedintegrated
systems.Becauseofthesefactors,wehavechosennottoevaluatethisreferencearchitecturetypein
thisresearch.However,whereeligiblevendorsalsoengageininitiativestocreateareferencearchitecture
fromaprescriptiveblueprint,wedoassessthisreferencearchitecturetypeaspartofouroverall
evaluationofthevendor.
Addingfurthermarketcomplexity,potentialbuyersfrequentlyevaluatedifferentcategoriesofintegrated
systemsagainstoneanother.Forinstance,becauseIISsolutionsaregeneric,multipurposesystemsthat
canrunavarietyofworkloads,itiscommonforoneIISofferingtobecomparedwithanother.Butbuyers
whowanttodeployaspecificworkloadmightcompareanISSsolution,likeOracleExadataDatabase
MachineorIBMPureApplicationSystem(bothofwhichhavetheworkloadembedded),withagenericIIS
thatisalsocapableofrunningtheworkload,orwithanIISplatformthathasanapplicablereference
architecture.

STRATEGICPLANNINGASSUMPTION
Hyperconvergedintegratedsystemswillrepresentover
35%oftotalintegratedsystemmarketrevenueby
2019.

EVALUATIONCRITERIADEFINITIONS
AbilitytoExecute
Product/Service:Coregoodsandservicesofferedby
thevendorforthedefinedmarket.Thisincludes
currentproduct/servicecapabilities,quality,feature
sets,skillsandsoon,whetherofferednativelyor
throughOEMagreements/partnershipsasdefinedin
themarketdefinitionanddetailedinthesubcriteria.
OverallViability:Viabilityincludesanassessmentof
theoverallorganization'sfinancialhealth,thefinancial
andpracticalsuccessofthebusinessunit,andthe
likelihoodthattheindividualbusinessunitwillcontinue
investingintheproduct,willcontinueofferingthe
productandwilladvancethestateoftheartwithinthe
organization'sportfolioofproducts.
SalesExecution/Pricing:Thevendor'scapabilitiesin
allpresalesactivitiesandthestructurethatsupports
them.Thisincludesdealmanagement,pricingand
negotiation,presalessupport,andtheoverall
effectivenessofthesaleschannel.
MarketResponsiveness/Record:Abilitytorespond,
changedirection,beflexibleandachievecompetitive
successasopportunitiesdevelop,competitorsact,
customerneedsevolveandmarketdynamicschange.
Thiscriterionalsoconsidersthevendor'shistoryof
responsiveness.
MarketingExecution:Theclarity,quality,creativity
andefficacyofprogramsdesignedtodeliverthe
organization'smessagetoinfluencethemarket,
promotethebrandandbusiness,increaseawareness
oftheproducts,andestablishapositiveidentification
withtheproduct/brandandorganizationintheminds
ofbuyers.This"mindshare"canbedrivenbya
combinationofpublicity,promotionalinitiatives,
thoughtleadership,wordofmouthandsalesactivities.
CustomerExperience:Relationships,productsand
services/programsthatenableclientstobesuccessful
withtheproductsevaluated.Specifically,thisincludes
thewayscustomersreceivetechnicalsupportor
accountsupport.Thiscanalsoincludeancillarytools,
customersupportprograms(andthequalitythereof),
availabilityofusergroups,servicelevelagreements
andsoon.
Operations:Theabilityoftheorganizationtomeet
itsgoalsandcommitments.Factorsincludethequality
oftheorganizationalstructure,includingskills,
experiences,programs,systemsandothervehicles
thatenabletheorganizationtooperateeffectivelyand
efficientlyonanongoingbasis.
CompletenessofVision
MarketUnderstanding:Abilityofthevendorto
understandbuyers'wantsandneedsandtotranslate
thoseintoproductsandservices.Vendorsthatshow
thehighestdegreeofvisionlistentoandunderstand
buyers'wantsandneeds,andcanshapeorenhance
thosewiththeiraddedvision.
MarketingStrategy:Aclear,differentiatedsetof
messagesconsistentlycommunicatedthroughoutthe
organizationandexternalizedthroughthewebsite,
advertising,customerprogramsandpositioning
statements.

Thatbeingsaid,itwouldberaretoseeoneISScompetingwithanotherISS,becausethechoiceofstacks
andworkloadtakespriorityoverthechoiceofplatform.So,ifOracleDatabaseManagementSystem
(DBMS)servingdeploymentistherequiredworkload,thepreferredISSsolutionwouldobviouslyfavoran
OracleEngineeredSystem.However,clientinquiriesindicatethatHCISsolutionsareincreasingly
challengingIIScompetition,especiallywhereconcernsabouttechnologylockinarehigh.

SalesStrategy:Thestrategyforsellingproductsthat
usestheappropriatenetworkofdirectandindirect
sales,marketing,service,andcommunication
affiliatesthatextendthescopeanddepthofmarket
reach,skills,expertise,technologies,servicesandthe
customerbase.

ItisalsoincreasinglycommonforHCISsolutionstobeevaluatedasaformofIISsolution,especiallyin
greenfieldsituationswherenointegratedsystemhasbeenboughtbefore.HCISvendorswillchallenge
theneedfor,andexpenseof,SANtechnologyandenterprisebladeserversbothofwhichareusually

Offering(Product)Strategy:Thevendor'sapproach
toproductdevelopmentanddeliverythatemphasizes
differentiation,functionality,methodologyandfeature
setsastheymaptocurrentandfuturerequirements.

associatedwithIISsolutions.

BusinessModel:Thesoundnessandlogicofthe
vendor'sunderlyingbusinessproposition.

ItisbecausethesedifferenttypesofsystemsareevaluatedagainsteachotherthatthisMagicQuadrant
assessesdifferentclassesofintegratedsystem.Itassessesthevendorsintermsofhardware(server,
networkandstorage),operatingsystemandvirtualizationsoftwarealongsideanyassociated
managementtoolsandhighavailability(HA)solutions.Itconsidershardwaredepthandscale,software
stackmanagementbreadthanddepth,andsupportoftheinfrastructure,aswellasflexibilityintheuse
ofreferencearchitectures.Thisresearchisnotintendedtojudgeembeddedsoftwarestacks,application
orplatformcomponentsindividually,suchasmiddleware,DBMSsoftwareandclustersoftwareinthe
applicationorDBMStiers.

Vertical/IndustryStrategy:Thevendor'sstrategy
todirectresources,skillsandofferingstomeetthe
specificneedsofindividualmarketsegments,including
verticalmarkets.

TheTechnology
MostIISandISSsolutionsarebasedonbladeservertechnology,withcloselycoupledSANornetwork
attachedstorage(NAS),whichenablebootfromdiskcapabilityforallphysicalandvirtualnodesthus,
makingthesystemstateless.Bladesarenotaprerequisite,however,andsomevendorswillpromote
rackbasedsolutionsaswell.
HCISsolutions,incontrast,areusuallybasedonrackoptimizednodes,whichcanbeextendedinnumber
throughthelifeofthesystem.ThemajorityofIISandISSsolutionsarereallyeffectivepackagingof
server,storageandnetworkingcomponentsthataresoldasseparateproductsintheirownright,while
HCISsolutionsarepurposedesignedandbuilttoformpartofanintegratedsystem.Whiletheindividual
buildingblocksofbothHCISsolutionsandIIS/ISSsolutionsmaybeassmallasasinglesocketrack
optimizednodeorbladeserver,itiscommonforIIS/ISSsolutionstoscaletodozensevenhundreds
ofnodes.HCISsolutionsofferbroadscalingintheory,butareusuallylimitedtosmallerconfigurations.
HCISscalingisalsoinfluencedbytheprobabilitythatsomenodeswillbedeployedformorestoragerather
thanextracomputecapacity.MostHCISvendorspromotethesoftwaredifferentiationoftheirsolution,
andprefertostressthatthehardwareishighlycommoditized.Butwearealsoseeingtheemergenceof
newgenerationchassisbasedfabricbasedcomputers(FBCs)thatmergethethreecompute,storageand
networkelementsmoreseamlessly.Thesesolutionswillplacemoreemphasisonhardware
differentiation.
Overall,thegreatmajorityofintegratedsystemsarebasedonIntelorAMDx86technology,butthereis
somesupportforreducedinstructionsetcomputer(RISC)variantslikePowerandSPARC,andthe
emergingmarketforARMandIntelAtomprocessorswillhaveapplicabilityforsomeintegratedsystem
usecases.

MagicQuadrant
Figure1.MagicQuadrantforIntegratedSystems

Source:Gartner(August2015)

VendorStrengthsandCautions
Cisco
Lastyear,thisMagicQuadrantassessedCiscoonitscollaborationwithNetAppandEMC,whichboth
remainactivetoday.ButCisco'spartneringstrategyhasexpandedsincethentoincludemanymore
choicesforintegratedsystems.Today,Cisco'sUnifiedComputingSystem(UCS)integratedinfrastructure
portfolioincludesanexpandedcombinationofstoragereferencearchitectures,includingHitachi,IBMand
NimbleStorage.TheseallbuildontheNetAppFlexPodreferencearchitectureparadigm.Ciscocontinues

Innovation:Direct,related,complementaryand
synergisticlayoutsofresources,expertiseorcapital
forinvestment,consolidation,defensiveorpre
emptivepurposes.
GeographicStrategy:Thevendor'sstrategytodirect
resources,skillsandofferingstomeetthespecific
needsofgeographiesoutsidethe"home"ornative
geography,eitherdirectlyorthroughpartners,
channelsandsubsidiariesasappropriateforthat
geographyandmarket.

itspartnershipwithVCE,butataloweredinvestmentgivenitwasacquiredbyEMC.Inadditionto
providingverticallyscalingintegratedsystemssuchasitdoeswithVCEandthestoragevendorslisted
above,CiscohasapresenceinthemarketforHCISthroughtechnologypartnershipswithSimpliVity,
StorMagic,ScaleIO,Maxta,andVMwareVirtualSANhostedonrackoptimizedCiscoUCS.These
partnershipsenableCiscotodeliverasinglescaleoutHCISsolutionhostedonrackoptimizedUCS
systems.Ciscohasevolvedamanagementstrategy,UCSDirector,toenablethehoster'scentralsystems
tomanagedistributedremotesitesandedgesystems,ortocreateclusteredsolutionsforapplications
basedonbigdataanalytics,suchasHadoop.
Cisco'shighlyvisiblesuccessasapartnerintheVCEcoalition,togetherwithitsNetAppreference
architectures,hasenabledthecompanytoestablishcredibilityasacomputevendorinlargeglobal500
enterprisesandtobecomealeaderinthebladeservermarket.ButwithmarketinterestinHCIS
continuingtogrow,Ciscohasyettodemonstratethatitcanextenditssuccesstomodular,scaleout
systemsthatintegrateUCSanddirectattachedstoragefromcentertoedge,anddeliverasoftware
definedstorage(SDS)offeringthatcancompetewithmanyrecententrantsintheHCISmarket.
Moreover,asCiscocontinuestoexpandpartnershipsbeyondVCEthatmaycompetemoredirectlyagainst
nonCiscocomputenodesofEMC(madeupofVxRacksandVSPEXBlue),usersshouldvalidateCisco's
abilitytodeliverasingleintegratedserviceandsupportexperienceacrossanarrayofconfigurationswhile
maintaininganeverexpandingcompatibilityandvalidationmatrixamongpartnersandcomponent
suppliers.
Strengths
CiscohasastrongVblockdatacenterpresencewithrepeatbuys.
Ciscooffersmultiplestoragereferencearchitectures,includingamarketleadingNetAppsolution
thatusesFlexPod,whileexpandingitsportfolioofsolutionsthroughpartnershipswithSimpliVity,
StorMagic,MaxtaandotherHCIStechnologies.
Ciscohasalargeglobalsaleschannelandsupportteamwithstrongcomplementaryengineering
capabilities.
Cautions
Cisco'slackofnativestoragesolutionscreatesbarrierstofurtherIIS/HCISprogressforthe
company,asthisemphasizestherelianceonexternalpartners.
Cisco'sHCISstrategyisstillinanascentphase,andbuildsmainlyonpartnershipssuchasthose
withSimpliVity,MaxtaandStorMagic.
CiscofacesfurthercompetitivedilutionasEMCVCEbroadensitsfocustoofferlowcostcompute,
scaleoutstorageandexpandedmanagementcapabilities.

Dell
Delloffersabroadportfolioofintegratedsystemsthatspanthewholeintegratedsystemmarket.
PlatformslikePowerEdgeVRTXandMicrosoftCloudPlatformSystem(CPS)arehighlydifferentiated
versusthecompetition.VRTXoffersalowend,integratedsystemaimedatsmallormidsizebusiness
(SMB),midmarket,branchanddepartmentalneeds.VRTXisdesignedtobedeployedandeasilymanaged
inaregularofficewithouttheneedfordedicatedITinfrastructure.CPS,atailoredAzureplatformforcloud
projects,isajointdevelopmentbetweenDellandMicrosoftwhereinhardwaresupportisuniquetoDell.
However,Dell'sbroadestmarketopportunitycomesfromthePowerEdgeFX2platform,whichlaunchedin
2014.DellsellsFX2bothasanewgenerationbladeserverandasanintegratedsystem.Dellisalsoa
certifiedhardwarenodevendorforVMware'sEvo:RailandacertifiedSAPHanaappliancevendor.
Dellhasmanysoftwareassetsthatfacilitateintegratedsystemdeployment,includingcloseintegration
betweentheActiveSystemManagermanagementsuiteandDell'sowncloudmanagementplatform,Dell
CloudManager.Inaddition,DellhasastrongrelationshipwithNutanix,withtheNutanixsoftwaresuite
beingcertifiedastheDellXCintegratedappliance.
Dellisagloballyrecognizeddatacenterbrandthatisexecutingitsseparateserver,networkingand
storagestrategieswell,andexistingusersofDellserversandothertechnologyshouldconsiderthe
companyforrelevantintegratedsystemprojects.However,Dellpursuesa"pull"marketingapproachthat
reactstocustomerdemand,buthasstruggledtocreatebroadawarenessandrecognitioninthismarket,
whereDellhasnotestablisheditselfyetasaleadingvendor.Saleshaveconsequentlybeensluggish
acrosstheportfolio.
Strengths
DellsellsastrongportfolioofintegratedsystemsthatspansallthecategoriesthatGartnerhas
defined,andisaidedbystrongpartnershipswithvendorslikeNutanixandMicrosoft.
SomeDellsolutions,suchasVRTXandCPS,arehighlydifferentiatedinthemarket.
Dellhasovercometheuncertaintiesovergoingprivateandisexecutingitsserverandstorage
strategieswell,givingthecompanyagoodglobalfoundationforintegratedsystemmarketgrowth.
Cautions
Dell'sintegratedsystempositioninghasbeeninconsistent.Multiplebrandinginitiativesandavariety
ofsoftwareacquisitionshavemuddledtheenduserperceptionofDellasanintegratedsystem
vendor.
FX2hasthecapacitytobeaunifyingforceforDell'sstrategy,butamutedproductlaunchrobbed
Delloftheopportunitytomakeastrongerinitialimpressionwithwhatisahighlyinnovative
product.
Althoughsuccessfulintheirrespectivemarkets,platformslikeVRTXandCPSaddressaveryfinite
audience,withlimitedopportunityforsalessuccesstobenefitDell'sbroaderintegratedsystem
marketopportunity.

EMC(VCE)
InDecemberof2014,EMCacquired90%ownershipofVCE.Ciscoowns10%withlongtermagreements
withVCEregardingengineering,customersupportandresellers.VCEisnowamemberoftheEMC
Federation.AsaresultoftheownershipchangewenolongerassessVCEindependentlyofEMC,andthis
year'sreferencetothevendorasEMC(VCE)reflectsthetransitioninprogress.Withitsmajority
ownershipofVCE,EMChasbecomeaformidablesourceofintegratedsystems,providingcombinedEMC

VCEengineeringdesigns.EMChaskeptVCE'sorganizationintactincludingengineering,sales,support
andmarketing,withclosecollaborationamongVCEandothermembersoftheEMCFederation.VCE
continuestorunitsfactoryintegration(inthededicatedVCEassemblyfacility),testingandsupport.
Mostrecently,VCEannounceditsrackscalehyperconvergedVxRack.ThefirstVxRackisexpectedtoship
in3Q15usingBriteboxservers,Ciscotopofrack(ToR)switchesandEMCScaleIOsoftwaredefined
storage.Laterthisyear,asecondVxRackpersonalitywillshipencompassingVMware'sEvo:Rack.
VCEannouncedVxBlocksthatofferthechoiceofCiscoApplicationCentricInfrastructure(ACI)and
VMware'sNSXsoftwaredefinednetworkingsolutions.VxBlocks,VblocksandVxRackswillscaleupand
scaleoutusinganewarchitecturecalledVscale.VCEalsoenablestechnologyextensionssuchasEMC
IsilonstorageandCiscoUCSserverstoattachtoVblocks.VCE'sVisionsoftwarewillexpandits
provisioning,compatibilityandlifecyclemanagementacrossmultiplesystemswithconnectedblocksand
racks.ThecombinationofEMCandVCErepresentsEMC'sotherintegratedsysteminterests,suchas
VSPEXBlue(whichisanEMCbrandedHCISimplementationofEvo:RailwithadditionalEMCsourced
capabilitiesthatenabledataprotection,backupandrecoveryinanapplianceplatform).Userswillneedto
holddiscussionspotentiallywithmultiplearmsofEMCanditsVSPEXsupplierstoascertainspecific
roadmap,directionandoverallintegrationstrategies.
Strengths
EMCisabletobuildonVCE'sestablishedpositionasoneoftheclearleadersintheintegrated
systemmarketwithVblocks.
EMCoffersfactoryintegratedandvalidatedreferencearchitecturesforenterprisemissioncritical
applications.
EMCisaprovenglobalvendorwithextensivechannelanddirectsales,plusservice,support.
Cautions
EMC'sVSPEXBluehyperconvergedsolutionshaverelativelyhighaverageentryupfrontcostsand
longconfigurationtodeploymentcyclesversuscompetingHCISsolutions.
EMCVCEhasnotbeeninthemarketlongenoughtoestablishareputationinHCISandincreating
scaleoutcapabilityonVblockfabric.
EMCmaystrugglewithhowtopositionitsvariousplatformsbasedonusecases,applicationsand
scale,includingrecognitionthatnewSANlessracksandVSPEXappliancesposepotential
cannibalizationofSANbasedblocksolutions.

Fujitsu
Fujitsuhasbeeninvestinginanintegratedsystemportfolioforlongerthanmostvendors,withinitiatives
likeFlexFrame(builtonacollaborationwithSAPandNetApp)andProcessingAreaNetwork(PAN)
Manager(analliancewithEgenera)datingbackmorethanadecade.AsFujitsuhasexpandeditsportfolio
toincludemorereferencearchitecturesandreadytorunsystems,itspreviouslackofaconsistentbrand
hascreatedgrowingconfusionoveritscompanystrategyandcommitment.In2014,Fujitsusimplifiedits
integratedsystembrandunderthenamePrimeflex.Thecompanyhasnowimplementedthebranding
acrossallregions,includingJapan(whereseparatebrandinghaspreviouslybeenthenormformany
years).
Today,Fujitsusellsmultipleofferingsthattargetarangeofworkloadsandusecasesprimarily
PrimeflexforSAPLandscapes(withscopeforOpenStacksupport),PrimeflexforSAPHana(whichcanbe
integratedwithPrimeflexforSAPLandscapes),PrimeflexforHPC,PrimeflexClusterinabox,Primeflexfor
VMwareVDI,PrimeflexforVMwareEvo:Rail,PrimeflexforCloud,PrimeflexforHadoop,PrimeflexforHA
DatabaseandPrimeflexforAnalytics.FujitsualsooffersnumerousreferencearchitecturesasPrimeflex
solutionsthattargetworkloadslikevirtualdesktopinfrastructure(VDI),VMwareVSAN(softwaredefined
storage),MicrosoftExchangeandMicrosoftLync.Thesesolutionsaredrivenbothbydirectandindirect
channels.
ThebreadthoftheFujitsuportfolioisimpressive,butcreatesanaddedresponsibilityforFujitsuto
demonstratehowitcanpositionitsproductstoaddressmultipletargetsegmentsmoreeffectivelythan
thecompetition.Withoutclearpositioning,itbecomesachallengeforFujitsutodemonstrateits
strengthsandpointsofdifferentiationinanincreasinglycrowdedandconfusedmarket.
Strengths
Fujitsuhascreatedabroadcombinationofintegratedsystems,appliancesandreference
architectures,whicharewellsupportedbyFujitsu'sowntechnologyandbythatfrompartnerssuch
asSAP.Thecompanyalsooffersanendtoendserviceportfolioandgoodindependentsoftware
vendor(ISV)partnering.
FujitsuissteadilyextendingitsglobalsalesreachbeyonditsstrongerregionsofJapanandWestern
Europe,butitisstillabletofocusregionallywhererequired.Forinstance,PrimeflexforVMware
Evo:RailhasachievedmosttractionwithU.S.andWesternEuropeanaudiences,whilePrimeflexfor
HPChasbeenshippedmorewidelyinAsia/Pacific.
Fujitsuhassuccessfullyunifieditsproductportfolio,includingreferencearchitectures,underone
worldwideterminologynamedPrimeflex.
Cautions
Fujitsu'ssalessuccessinthemarketisstilllimited,causedmainlybyanunclearstrategy(now
resolved),andanevolvingmarketstrategyforhowtocompeteinhyperconvergencearea.
FujitsuislessstronginitsindirectchannelsandpartneringoutsideofJapanandWesternEurope,
thuslimitingitsappealandviabilityforinternationalcustomers.
FormarketsliketheU.K.,theU.S.andJapan(whereFujitsu'slocalbusinessisskewedinfavorof
strongservicesandintegrationskills),thecompanyhascompetinglocalpriorities,wherethefocus
onservicesandsystemintegrationweakenstheabilitytoachieveintegratedsystemmomentum.

Gridstore
Foundedin2009,GridstorebeganasanNASvendor,targetingsmallandmidsizeenterprises.The
company'sexperienceledittoidentifyagapinthemarketforalowcosthyperconvergedappliancebuilt
onMicrosoft'sHyperV.ThisrealizationledGridstoretocreateitsHyperConvergedAppliance,anenclosure

thatcancontainuptofournodesandscaleouttocreatelargersystems.Twonodetypesarecurrently
availableforthisappliance:aflashcomputenode(FCN)andaflashstoragenode(FSN)toaddcapacity
whenadditionalcomputeisnotneeded.ThedecisiontorestrictitselftoHyperVhasenabledGridstoreto
benefitfromHyperVgainsinmarketshare,whichareoftendrivenbyHyperV'scostadvantagerelative
toVMwareandbygrowthintheAzurecustomerbase.FocusingonHyperVhasbenefitedGridstoreby
simplifyinginvestmentsinresearchanddevelopment,andinintegrationtesting.Thisstreamlinesproduct
positioningandmessaging,andhelpstomakeGridstoreanappealingMicrosoftpartner.Firstcustomer
shipmentsbeganinSeptember2014,andearlyreferencechecksindicatethesystemisstable.In
addition,Gridstore'sabilitytosecurethreeroundsoffinancingindicatessalesaretrackingclosetoplan.
Ratherthanrelyuponexternalstoragesystemsforstorage,Gridstorehaschosentoleverageitsearlier
developmentworkinNASintoitsstoragelayer.Theresulthasbeenastoragelayerthatuseserasure
codingfordataprotection,includesdataflowsthatminimizeinternodetraffic,andofferstheabilityto
leverageMicrosoftfilecompressiontechnologyintotypical2to1to5to1reductionsinphysicalstorage
requirements.Whilethesearchitecturalfeaturesarenotunique,theydoimproveproductattractiveness
relativetoconvergedinfrastructureslackingerasurecodingand/orstorageefficiencyfeatures.
Strengths
Gridstoreiswellpositionedtoexpandmarketinterestviagrowthinthecustomerbaseandmarket
shareofHyperV.
GridstoreprovidesascaleoutarchitecturethatcanmixandmatchFCNsandFSNs,enabling
customerstoaddstorageorcomputeasneeded.
GridstoreofferstightintegrationwithHyperVandAzuremanagementtools.
Cautions
Gridstoreisanascentvendorentirelydependentuponventurefunding.
Gridstorehaslimitedmarketvalidationandaverysmallinstalledbase.
Gridstoremarketing,salesandsupportstrategiesarestillinaformativestage.

Hitachi
Hitachi'sprimaryITsubsidiaryHitachiDataSystems(HDS)propelsthecompany'sintegratedsystem
businesswithproductstrategyandengineeringdrivengloballythroughitsU.S.subsidiary.Andalthough
HDSisrecognizedasawellestablishedstoragevendor,thecompanycanbuildonHitachi'soverallstrong
reputationinitscoreJapanesemarkettomaintainitspositionasaleadingvendoracrosssystems,
softwareandservices.Hitachihasanimpressivetrackrecordinmultipleindustrysegmentsthathelps
thecompanytowinhighpraiseforcustomersupportandstrategicpartnering.
HitachiUnifiedComputePlatform(UCP)andtheUCPDirectorsuite(whichenablesunifiedmanagement
ofcompute,networkandstoragetechnologybasedonuserdefinedpolicies)waslaunchedin2012.UCP
DirectorsoftwarealsoenablesAPIaccesstoISVsandserviceproviders,facilitatingeasypluginsthat
extendthe"integrated"experiencebeyondHitachi'sowntechnology.UCPaddressesthreetypicaluse
cases:virtualization/datacentermodernization,businessintelligenceandhighperformancedatabases.
ThecompanysellsnumeroustailoredversionsofUCPthataddressmorespecificusecasesvia
partnershipswithvendorslikeVMware,Microsoft,SAPandOracle.InadditiontopreconfiguredUCP
modelsbasedonitsownserversandstorage,HitachialsoworkswithCiscotosellavalidateddesign
basedonCiscoUCSandHitachistorage.
AspartoftheHitachistrategytobetterpositionitselfasaglobalITplayer,statementsanddocuments
suggestagrowingemphasisoninvestmentinsoftwareandservicesalongsidetheexistinghardware
focus.Overall,HitachiDataSystemsneedstocarefullybalanceandcoalesceinvestmentsandresources
thatspanfullyintegratedUCP,storagereferencearchitectures(forexample,fromCisco)and
software/servicestomaximizeitsintegratedsystemexecution.BothHitachi'sdomestic(Japanese)and
internationallinesofbusinesswillneedtocontinuetodemonstratesustainedcommitmenttointegrated
systems,storageandserverstomaintainthemarketmomentumthathasbeenachievedthusfar.
Strengths
Hitachi(andHitachiDataSystems)isabletobuildonastrongandestablishedstoragevendor
reputation,aswellasgrowingrecognitionforhighqualitycustomersupportandtechnology
innovation,expandingfromastorageandsystemvendortosupportformobileandsocialinnovation
(forexample,Mode2)thatleveragesitsUCPtechnology.
HitachiDataSystemshasbroadenedtheappealofHitachiUCPthroughstrongallianceswithglobal
ISVsandotherpartners.Asaresultofthesealliances,HitachiDataSystemsprovidesAPIaccessfor
integrationwiththirdpartysoftwareandmanagementtools(suchasautomationandorchestration
basedonitsvisionformicroservices),withserviceprovidertoolsandportals.
Thegrowinginvestmentinbladeservers,alongwithHitachiDataSystems'focusontopicalmarkets
likeSAPHana,enhancetheHitachiUCPmarketopportunityanditssalesgrowth.
Cautions
HitachiDataSystemsisinthemidstofdevelopingglobalcoverage,includinghyperconverged
integratedsystemstorivaltherapidadvancesintheindustry.Asaleadingstoragevendor,itis
challengedtodevelopandexecutethebalancewhereacohesivehyperconvergedstrategyis
compatiblewiththeneedtopreservemarketdemandforintegratedsystemsbasedonexternal
controllerbasedstorage.
TheHitachiDataSystemspartnershipwithCiscohasabsorbedthecompany'ssaleschannelsand
alliances,andmaydistractitscorporatepositioning,causingconfusionamongsomeusers.
Tohelpgaininternationalacceptance,Hitachihaschosentodriveitsintegratedsystemstrategy
fromCalifornia,althoughtheITmarketclearlyperceivesHitachiasaJapanesecompany.Thisplaces
particularonusonHitachitodeliverconsistentglobalmessaging.

HP
Duringthepastyear,HPhasexpandeditsalreadycomprehensiveportfolioofConvergedSystemmodel
categoriestoaddressnewworkloadperformanceandcapacitydemands.ModelsrangefromMoonshot,
whichoffershighdensityandlowerpowerconsumption,toApollo,whichoffershighcompute
performanceandanalyticscapabilities.HPprovidesConvergedSystemofferings,includingHanasystems,

targetedatdatamanagement,analytics,datacenterconsolidation,virtualizationandcloudinaddition,it
offersahyperconvergedsolutionwiththeConvergedSystem200HCStoreVirtual.
HP'sleadershippositioninx86serversshouldprovideitanditschannelpartnerssignificantgotomarket
opportunitiesthatfewcompetitorshavebutHPhasbeenslowtocapitalizeontheopportunity.As
marketmomentumhasbuilt,HPhasachievedonlylimitedintegratedsystemmarketsuccesswithpoor
conversionandupgraderatesinproportiontoitsvastbladeandrackmountedinstalledbase,allowing
competitionprimarilyfromCiscoNetAppandVCEtousurpgroundindatacenters,whereHPhad
strategicpresence.Morerecentlyinthepast12months,HPhasbeengaininggreaterrecognitionand
adoptionwithastrongvaluepropositionbasedonHPOneView.HPOneViewdeliversintegrationof3PAR
andbladesasreferencearchitectures,orgivesusersflexibilitytoconstructanoptimizedintegrated
system,perhapsobviatingtheneedtopurchaseapreintegratedsystem.
HPhassetaboutovercomingsuboptimalefficienciesinsalesandmarketing,whileenhancingtheease
andfunctionaluseofitsHPOneViewinfrastructuremanagementthroughanautomationhub.OneView
marketacceptanceisnowbuilding,withabout200,000licensedusersdeployedtodate.Thisshould
enableHPtogeneratemoreinterestandadoptionfrombothitslegacyinstalledbaseandincompetitive
RFPs.Tomakeplatformselectioneasier,customersandprospectsshoulddemandthatHPcreatebetter
coherenceamongfamilybrandsandemphasizeheterogeneityinstorageandnetworking(forexample,
HPwillincludeCiscoandAristaswitches).HPisbuildingmarketrecognitioninscalablesoftwaredefined
hyperconvergence,whileHelionCloudSystemisgainingincreasedrecognitionasanintegratedhybrid
cloud.HPhasalsobeenexpandingitsvisiontobuilda"composableinfrastructure"APIandecosystemto
enableMode2applicationmodernizationandagilitybasedonhyperconvergedintegratedsystemsasof
yet,thisisintheearlystages.
Strengths
HPhasabroadportfolioofintegratedsystemsandreferencearchitectures(fromhyperconverged
ConvergedSystem200HCStoreVirtualtotheConvergedSystem900forSAPHana),alongwitha
strongchannelandrelationshipsamongISVs(Microsoft,SAP,VMware,Citrix)thattargetvarious
usecases(dataanalytics,SQLServer,Oracleandvideostreaming).
Unlikemanyvendors,HPcanoffersinglevendorservernetworkstorageendtoendcontract
supportandaccountabilitywithfactorypreintegrationandpayperuseoptions.
HPintegratedsystemusersbenefitfromimprovedHPOneViewholisticresourceandlifecycle
managementandanalytics,witheasierandquickerinfrastructuredeploymentsviaconfiguration
templates.
Cautions
Attimes,GartnerclientfeedbackindicatesthatHPhasnotyetcrystalizedmessaging,positioning,
selection,andbuildandorderprocessesrelatedtoitscomplexportfolioofintegratedsystem
solutions.
HPoffersreferencearchitecturesandbuildsamongothernetworkandstorageequipmentsuppliers
forOneViewsupportforthesearchitecturesandbuildsisonlybecomingavailableonagradualbasis
asOpenViewadoptionbuilds.
HP'sHCISoffering(HPConvergedSystem200HCStoreVirtual)isstillinearlyrolloutandisjust
beginningtorampupasHCIScompetitionincreasesfromnontraditionalITvendors,suchas
NutanixandSimpliVity.

Huawei
Huaweihasapositionofstrengthinitsdomesticmarket,China.However,thecompanylacksglobal
recognitionasadatacenterbrand,althoughitisworkingtorectifythesituation.Huawei'sintegrated
systembusinessisnascent,butgrowing,withover30%ofrevenuevestedwithkeycustomersoutside
Huawei'sAsia/Pacifichomemarket.Huaweiisabletoleveragepresenceinmarketswhereits
campus/corenetworkingandtelcopresenceisstrongtosellintegratedsystems.Thecompanyisalso
targetingemergingmarketsthroughbothdirectpresenceandchannelrecruitment.
Huawei'sintegratedsystemproductiscalledFusionCube,andisbasedonHuawei'sE9000bladeplatform.
WhendeployedwithFusionSphereandFusionAccess,FusionCubeoffersagoodmixofphysical,virtual
andprivatecloudhardwareandsoftware.FusionCubeistargetedattwokeymarkets:virtualizationand
privatecloudand,enterprisedatabasemanagementsystem(DBMS)anddatawarehouseenvironments,
includingOracle,SAP,IBMandMicrosoft.FusionCubeusesafederated(orscaleout)storagearchitecture,
whichismoreakintothearchitecturalstyleofanHCIS,asopposedtothatofexternalcontrollerbased
storage.
KeyareasofstrengthforFusionCubearevirtualdesktopinfrastructure,servervirtualizationandDBMS.
HuaweiisacertifiedSAPHanaproviderandcertifiedtoscaleoutHanadeploymentsonFusionCubeto
16TB.FusionCubeisappropriateforHuaweisoftwareusers,butalsosupportsmultiplethirdparty
softwareoptionslikeVMware,Oracle,DB2andSAP,forexample.Werecommendthatusersofotherx86
serversandsolutionsvalidatetheavailablelevelofthirdpartysoftwarecertificationandlocalsupport.
Strengths
HuaweiisanestablisheddatacenterbrandinChina,withagrowingcustomerbaseacrossthe
world.
Huaweiisgrowingitsglobalpresenceandcanleverageexistingacceptanceintelecommunications
anddatacenternetworkingaccountstodothis.
Huawei'sinvestmentinintegratedsystemtechnologysupportsitsgoalsofbecomingaglobaldata
centerbrand.Huaweileverageslatestgenerationtechnologies,andalsohasatrackrecordofunique
technologyinnovationanddifferentiation.
Cautions
ISVsupportforFusionCubeisimproving,butGartnerclientinquirieshaveindicatedpotentialfor
supportandcertificationissueswithsomethirdpartysoftwarevendors.
HuaweiisstillgrowingitsglobalpresenceoutsideofAsia/Pacific,directorpartnercoveragemaybe
lacking,dependingonlocation.
Huawei'srecognitionasanintegratedsystemproviderisonlygraduallybuildingonthebackof
outboundpromotionatHuaweieventsandotherconferences,sothecompany'scredibilityamong

ITorganizationsoutsideitshomegeographyisinconsistent.

IBM
AsaresultofsellingitsPureFlextechnologytoLenovo,IBM'sportfolionowfocusesonrelatedintegrated
stacksystemslikePureApplicationSystem(integratedwithapplicationcodeandmiddleware)and
PureDataSystem(integratedwithdatabasemanagementandbigdataanalytics).IBMhasalsoretained
ownershipofthePureSystemsbrand.Multipleofferingsarepackagedas"patterns"(IBM'sterminologyfor
blueprints)underthePureApplicationumbrella,includingIBMCloudManagerforOpenStack(cloud
infrastructure),ExpertIntegratedSystems(bigdataandHadoop),andMobileApplicationPlatform(mobile
applications).FlexSystemManageristhenameofIBM'sintegratedmanagementtoolthatworksacross
allPureSystemsproductsownershipofthistechnologydidnottransitionacrosstoLenovo.
IBMhaspartneredwithCiscotojointlymarketandsupporttheVersaStackreferencearchitecture,which
isbasedonIBMStorwizestorageandCiscoUCSbladeservers.AlthoughIBMnolongerownsanyx86
assets,itstillworkscloselywithLenovoandcanresellandsupportLenovo'sintellectualproperty.
However,newproductslikePurePowerSystemindicateIBM'scontinuedinvestmentinintegrated
systems,andshowthatthecompany'spreferredstrategyistopromotethePowerarchitectureasthe
foundationformostofitsintegratedsystemstrategiesmovingforward.
IBMhasstrongISVrelationships,especiallyinverticalindustrieslikefinancialservices,retail,healthcare
andenergy,whereIBMhasastrongcorporatetrackrecord.IBMisalsofocusingonleveragingthe
corporatestrengthsincloudandbigdataanalyticsmarkets.Forinstance,IBMisinvestingindelivering
coexistencebetweenitsintegratedsystemsandcomparablefunctionalityontopofSoftLayertoenable
workloadstomoveworkbackandforth.Buttodate,thecompanyhasmadelimitedprogressinturning
marketrecognitionforsoftwareandservicesintotangiblegrowthforintegratedsystems.
Strengths
IBMhasastrongreputationthatspanshardwareperformance,software,servicesandsupport.
PureApplicationandPureDataaretunedandoptimizedtorunIBMsoftwarestackswithhigh
performanceandfunctionality.
Withnoinhousex86strategytodefend,IBMisabletopursueastrongerfocusonPowerbased
solutionsandpartnerwithmultiplex86vendors,includingLenovoandCisco.
Cautions
Withthemarketstronglyskewedtowardgeneralpurposesolutionsbasedonx86technology,IBM's
marketpresencehasbecomemorenicheorientedwithafocusonstackintegration.
Despitethestrongsoftwarefocus,IBMhasnotyetachievedrecognitionasavendorcommittedto
thehyperconvergencecategoryofthemarket.
NewgotomarketpartnershipswithCisco,Lenovoandothervendorsarerelativelyunproven.

Lenovo
InOctober2014,LenovoboughtIBM'scompleteportfolioofx86serversandnetworkingswitches,along
withthesupportingIBMbusiness.LenovohasemployedthemajorityofIBM'sglobalresearchand
development,factoryandfieldbasedstafffocusedonx86servers.Inaddition,LenovonowownsIBMlabs
andmanufacturinglocationsinRaleigh,NorthCarolinaSanJose,CaliforniaKirkland,Washingtonand
Taipei,Taiwan.Lenovoalsoowns18otherglobalsalessupportoffices,thankstothisdeal.Lenovo
acquiredthePureFlexSystem,andhassincerenamedthefamilyLenovoConvergedSystemfor
Infrastructure.Additionally,inJanuary2015,LenovoannounceditscertificationasaVSPEXreference
architecturepartnerforEMC,andhasalreadygainedhundredsofcustomers.
Lenovo'sConvergedSystemisbasedontheFlexSystemchassis,abladearchitecturethatwas
introducedbyIBMin2012.WithConvergedSystem,networkingisintegratedandIBM'sStorwizeV7000
deliversexternalbasedstorage.SystemmanagementisdeliveredbyLenovoXClarity,abrandnew
managementplatformthatisdesignedtotakeadvantageofpluginsandthirdpartymanagement
softwareintegrationfromproviderssuchasMicrosoftandVMware.TheXClaritystrategyisrelatively
distinctfromotherintegratedsystemsinthatitispurposelydesignedtobesimple,meaningthedepth
andbreadthofitscapabilitiesarenarrowerthanmostcompetingproducts.However,whencombined
withasophisticatedpieceofhardware,suchastheLenovoConvergedSystem,customerswillhaveto
relyonadditionalthirdpartytoolstodeliverappropriatedepthandbreadthofmanagementcapabilityto
makeupforwhereXClarityislacking.
Lenovo'sConvergedSystemstrategyisappealingtonewcustomers,butrepresentsdisruptionfor
existingPureSystemsandFlexSystemcustomers.Today,IBMandLenovohaveagreementsinplacethat
LenovowillfunctionasanoriginalequipmentmanufacturerforFlexSystemManageranddevelopPower
basedFlexSystembladesthroughtotheendofthisdecade.Thisultimatelymeansamigrationisinthe
futureforexistingPureSystemsorFlexSystemcustomers,causingfuturedisruption.Lenovoisinvesting
inconfigurationstoolsandspecialprogramstomotivateandassistchannelpartnersasthetransitiontoa
moreholisticstrategyprogresses.
Strengths
LenovohasaleadingmarketpresenceandglobalcoveragewithitsacquiredSystemXbusiness,
existingThinkServerandWanquanservercustomers,andviaitslargenetworkofchannelpartners.
LenovohasmaintainedtheenterprisecredentialsinheritedfromIBM'ssuccessinthismarket,such
asSAPHanacertificationwithLenovoConvergedSystem.
FlexSystemenhancements,alongwithadditionalpostacquisitionpartnershipslikecloseralignment
withEMC,haveplayedanimportantroleinprovingLenovo'sattractivenessasapartnerprovider
andaugmentingitsintegratedsystemstrategy.
Cautions
GartnerinquiriesandclientsurveysindicateadecreasingconfidenceinLenovo'scredibilityasan
enterprisevendorfollowingtheSystemXacquisition.
Lenovomustdemonstratethatitcanretainthestaffandchannelpartnersthathavebeen
inheritedthroughtheacquisition.Itmustalsomaintainitsenterprisefocuswhileshiftingthefocus
ofitsbusiness,includingtransitioningintegratedsystemstoavolumeorientedmarket.

LenovomustexecutecrediblepostacquisitionroadmapstodemonstratethatthepreviousIBM
investmentinintegratedsystemengineeringandproductinnovationwillnotsufferundernew
ownership.

NetApp
NetApp'sparticipationintheintegratedsystemmarketrestsontwoofferings:itswellknownFlexPod
offeringanditsdifferentiatedVMwareEvo:Railoffering,whichconstitutesasmallportionofitsconverged
infrastructurerevenueoverall.
FlexPodbeganasareferencearchitecturethathasbenefitedfromyearsofCiscoandNetAppjoint
developmentandacooperativesupportagreementtobecomeavalidintegratedsystemassembledby
valueaddedresellers(VARs)atthecustomer'ssite.FlexPod'sappealisfurtherenhancedbycollaboration
withothervendors,suchasVMware,Microsoft,Oracle,SAP,CitrixandRedHat,andthroughmarketing
programssuchasFlexPodExpressforsmallenterprisesandFlexPodSelectforspecializedworkloadslike
Hadoop.FlexPodhasseenstrongmarketacceptancedrivenbyitsuseofCiscoandNetApphardware,co
marketingprogramsandaVARnetworkconsistingofmorethan1,000partnerscertifiedtosellFlexPod,
andover90FlexPodPremiumPartnersthatdrivethevastmajorityofFlexPodsales.MicrosoftandCitrix
havealsoagreedtoparticipateintheFlexPodCooperativeSupportProgram,alongwithCisco,NetAppand
VMware.TheFlexPodportfoliohasalsoexpanded,withsupportforawidernumberofSKUs.
NetAppIntegratedVMwareEvo:RailsolutionisinitiallytargetingNetAppenterprisecustomerswithmany
remoteoffices.Integratingitsentrylevelfabricattachedstorage(FAS)systemsintoitsEvo:Railsolution
enablestheselargeenterprisestosharethesametechnologybetweentheirdatacentersandremote
officeswithallitsattendantbenefits,butwithoutaproportionalincreaseinmanagementoverhead.
NetApp'sOntapEdgehasalsoprovideditscustomerbaseapathtoasoftwaredefineddatacenter,along
withfinancialandoperationaladvantages.Foremostamongtheseadvantagesistheabilitytooffloaddata
protectionoverhead,enablethinprovisioningandperforminbandcompressionandpostingest
deduplicationallattributesthatmakeitparticularlyattractiveinVDIenvironments.
Strengths
NetApphasaworldwidepresence,ahugeinstalledbase,FlexPodsuccess,salesbandwidthand
partnershiprelationships.
BothFlexPodandEvo:Railofferintegrationwiththecloud.
FlexPodisdesignedtobehypervisoragnostic,andisvalidatedwithVMwareESX,HyperVand
XenServer.FlexPodwillalsoworkwithbaremetalwhennohypervisorissuitable.
Cautions
ChangesinNetAppseniormanagementandlossesofkeypersonnelmayportendfuturechangesof
focusinmarketingandproductstrategies.
Cisco'snewmanagementteamhasdeemphasizeditsrelationshipwithNetAppandmaynotbeas
emotionallyinvestedinthebusinesstobusinessrelationshipastheoldguard.TheCisco
relationshipswithhyperconvergencevendorslikeSimpliVityandexpandedpartnershipswithother
storagevendorsindicateareductioninthestrategicvalueofNetAppasapartner.
NetApphasapartnerdependentbusinessmodel,makingthecompanylessattractivetocustomers
whofavoramoreholistic,singlevendorsolution,suchasthosefromOracle,IBMandHP.

Nimboxx
NimboxxisaprivatelyownedHCISvendor,basedinAustin,Texas.Thecompanybeganshippingproducts
in2014.ItsAUseriescomprisesthreeHCISnodes,andNimboxxsellsaspecializedappliancetargetedat
VDIdeploymentsthatisbasedonthesametechnology.TheAU110isa1Uappliancebasedonlowend,
onesocketnodeswith64GBRAMand4.8TBdiskstorage.TheAU110xgreatlyincreasesmemoryto
256GBRAManddoublesstorageto9.6TBpernode.ThecompanyrecentlyreleasedathirdHCIS
applianceversioncalledtheAU120Xthatincreasesrawstoragecapacityto14.4TBwhilestillkeepingthe
same1Uformfactor.Nimboxxspecializesindeliveringacompletesoftwarestack,andthesoftwaresuite
includesakernelbasedvirtualmachine(KVM)basedhypervisor,minimizingdependencyonthirdparty
vendorslikeVMwareorMicrosoft.InFebruary2015,NimboxxacquiredVerdeVDIsoftwaretechnology
fromVirtualBridges.ThisacquisitionenabledNimboxxtosellacompletehardwareandsoftwaresolution
forVDI,namedtheVE100.TheacquisitionofVerdealsoprovidedaccesstoVerde'sinternational
customerbaseandchannel,whichgreatlyimprovedNimboxx'sinternationalreachandviability.
Nimboxxisfocusedonhighperformancetechnology(claimingupto360,000input/outputoperationsper
second[IOPS]pernode)andrapidtimetodeploy.Thecompanytargetsarangeofstandardworkloads
suchasfile,databaseandWebserving,butisalsocommittedtoinvestinAPIsformoreopenconnectivity
topubliccloudserviceslikeAmazonWebServicesandGoogleNearline.Hadoopandcontainersupportare
alsooffered.Nimboxxisgrowingfast,butfromaverysmallbase.Thecompanyonlycommenced
shipmentsduring2014,socustomersespeciallyinternationalonesshouldvalidatethebreadthand
depthofNimboxx'sskillstoaddresstheirneeds.
Strengths
Nimboxxshipsacompletehardware/softwaresolution,whichincludesaKVMbasedhypervisor.
Nimboxxaddressesawidevarietyofusecases,includingemergingopportunitieslikecontainers,
publiccloudandOpenStack.
TheVerdeacquisitionprovidesNimboxxwithitsowninhouseVDIsolutionandexpandsNimboxx's
internationalchannelreach.
Cautions
Nimboxxisanascentvendorthatisdependentonventurefunding.
Nimboxxchannelpartnershipsandsupportinfrastructuresarenewandrelativelyunproven,
particularlyoutsidetheU.S.
Asshipmentsonlycommencedin2014,Nimboxx'stechnologyisrelativelyunproven,withalimited
installedbasesizeandfewreferenceaccounts.

Nutanix

Foundedin2009,NutanixisaprivatelyfundedHCISvendorthatbeganshippingproductin2011.Since
then,thecompanyhasbuiltaninstalledbaseofmorethan1,400customers(somewithinstallationsof
100nodesandonewith1,500nodes),workingthroughmorethan750channelpartnersworldwide.
Nutanixhasgrownitsheadcounttomorethan1,100employees,createdaworldwidepresencethat
encompassesmorethan70countriesacrosssixcontinents,andhassecuredfiveroundsoffinancingto
sustainitssalesmomentumandvision.StrategicallyimportantrelationshipswithVMware,Delland
Microsoft(plusothertopsoftwarevendors)haveenabledNutanixtoopenlysupportVMwareandHyperV
anddevelopitsownAcropolishypervisorbasedonKVM.
Nutanixhasdoneanexcellentjobofaligningitsmarketingandproductdevelopmentstrategiesinthe
developmentofNutanixOS(renamedAcropolisfortheruntimesoftwareandPrismforthemanagement
softwareinitslatestrelease)anditssoftwarestackthatspansstorage,networking,andcompute.By
eliminatingtheneedforexternalstoragearraysandbuildingcompression,deduplicationanderasure
codingintoitsdistributedstoragefabric,Nutanixhascreatedacompellinglowtotalcostofownership
(TCO)storywhereinavailability,performanceandscalabilityarenotsacrificed.MuchoftheNXSeries
applianceownershipadvantageisattributablenotonlytotheeliminationofexternalstoragearrayswith
theirhighgrossmarginsortheuseofcommodityhardware,butalsotothecompressionand
deduplicationofdatastoredonharddiskdrives(HDDs).Owningtheentiresoftwarestackhasalso
enabledNutanixtoofferitscustomerscrosshypervisorhighavailabilityandmobilityabigdealfor
usersleveragingtheuniquevaluepropositionsofvarioushypervisorsorconsideringburstingtoAmazon
orAzureclouds.
Strengths
Nutanixhasgainedmarketcredibility,establishedaworldwidepresencewithapproximately30%of
revenuecomingfromoutsideofNorthAmericaandbuiltaninstalledbasethatprovidessignificant
upgradeandexpansionrevenue.
WiththelaunchofXtremeComputingPlatformcomposedofAcropolisandPrism,Nutanixisnowa
completeinfrastructuresolutionscompany,providingitscustomersflexibilityintheirchoiceof
hypervisorsandcloudusage.
TheAcropolisscaleoutarchitecture,alongwiththeabilitytoscalecomputeandstorage
independently,enablesuserstogrowNutanixdeploymentsincrementallytomeetapplicationneeds.
Cautions
Nutanixisnolongersmallenoughfortheestablishedsystemvendorstoignoreordismiss,andwill
thereforeconfronttoughercompetitiongoingforward.
Nutanixstilllacksprovenchannelandsupportcapabilityinsomecountries,sointernationalusers
shouldvalidatethesecapabilities.
ManyconservativeITorganizationsarereluctanttodobusinesswithprivatelyheldcompaniesinthe
beliefthattheylackprovengovernance,transparencyorlikelihoodoflongevity.

Oracle
OracleleadsitsintegratedsystemofferingwiththeEngineeredSystemsfamilyofproducts.Sincethe
2008launchofExadata,OraclehasevolvedandgrownitsEngineeredSystemsportfoliotoachievea
dominantpositioninthemarketforintegratedstacksystemswheremostdeployedsystemsare
integratedwithOraclesoftware.WhilemostmomentumhasrevolvedaroundExadata,theopportunity
forotherOraclestackinclusionisgrowing.
OracleremainsparticularlystrongwithbothExadataandSuperCluster.WiththeembeddedExadata
storageengine,SuperClusterhasevolvedoverthepastyeartobecomeaviableSPARC/Solarisequivalent
toExadata,although,itwasinitiallytargetedmoreasamultiworkloadintegratedinfrastructureforthe
Solarisinstalledbase.
InquiriesindicatecustomersareincreasinglyrunningmultipleworkloadsonEngineeredSystems,which
includetheOracleDatabaseApplianceandExalogic.Thisbroadeningofadoptionisgood,butfurtherblurs
theboundariesofanintegratedstacksystem.Consolidationofmultipleworkloadsalsoemphasizesthe
maturityneededformixedworkloadconsolidationandhighavailability/disasterrecoverystorage
managementofOracleVirtualization.
WhileOracleismaintainingaleadershippositionintheintegratedsystemmarket,itsvisionremains
boundduetoincreasedfocusontheoptimumdeploymentofOracleapplicationsandDBMSsoftware.
Oraclemaintainslimitedmarketpresenceasageneralpurposeintegratedsystemvendor.Weexpectthis
directiontocontinue,wherebyOraclewillfocusincreasinglyonoptimumOracleworkloadperformance,
anditsSPARC/Solaristechnology,whereprogressonsoftwareonsiliconwillfurtherblurthelinesonhow
priceperformanceiscalculatedperOraclelicense.ThiswillalsobereflectedinmoreEngineeredSystems
beingfocusedonSPARC/Solaris,whichcouldimpactthecurrentequilibriumofOracle'sx86Linux
EngineeredSystemsmarketandeventuallyputpressureonOracletosettleononeortheotherasits
technologyfoundation.
Strengths
Oracleoffersastrongportfolioofintegratedsystems,withprovenperformancebenefitsforOracle
softwareworkloads.
Oracleenablesapplicationownerstobecomeeffectivebuyingcentersandpointsofadministration
foritsEngineeredSystems.
Oraclehasaggressivemarketing,closealignmentofitssoftwareandhardwarestrategies,andan
opportunitytocrosssellandupsellintoitsinstalledbase.
Cautions
Oracle'sEngineeredSystemsareperceivedasrelativelyexpensiveastheytieinserverandstorage
infrastructurewithOraclesoftware.
Gartnerclientinquiriesdemonstrateacontinuedfearofvendorlockinofintegratedsoftwarestacks,
tiedtohardwareassetlifecyclesandvarietiesoflicensingmodels(forexample,Core,Userand
EnterpriseLicenseAgreement[ELA]).
Oracle'sfocusoncreatingSPARC/SolarisdifferentiationversussolutionsbasedonLinux/x86risks
rebalancingthecurrentdualplatformequilibrium.

Pivot3
Pivot3hasactuallybeenintheITsolutionsmarketsince2002,offeringstrongtechnologiesaround
surveillanceandsecurity.Therapidgrowthofmarketinterestaroundhyperconvergencehasenabled
Pivot3torepositionitselftoaddressawidermarketopportunity,andfocusitsstorageperformanceand
efficienciesinspecificindustriessuchashealthcare,government,transportationandgaming.Pivot3cites
itsarchitectureandpatentsasprovidingenhancedlevelsofscalability(acrossclustersofmultiple
hypervisorbasedclusters),linearscalabilityinIOPS,andanefficientdataprotectionschemewitherasure
codingandactive/activefaulttoleranceacrossappliances.
Pivot3hasdevelopedhardwarepartnershipswithDellandSupermicro,andrecently,Lenovo,withDell
providingadditionalintegrationandsupportcapabilities,aswellasabroaderglobalreach.Withmorethan
300globalchannelpartners,Pivot3hasamassedabroadbaseofindustryexpertisewithmorethan
1,600customers.Pivot3competesnotonlywithahostofHCISvendorsbutalsowithlargertraditional
integratedsystemvendorsthatareexpandingtheirportfolioswithscaleoutHCISofferings.Together
withworkloadslikeVDIthatarecommontomostHCISvendors,Pivot3alsohasastrongfocusonthe
surveillancemarket,andhasopenedsoftwaredevelopmentlabsinTexastofocusonthismarket.
Strengths
Pivot3'sindustryexperienceofmorethanadecadecontributestoitscurrenthyperconverged
architecturemessageandcredibility.
Pivot3isabletodifferentiateagainstmanyothervendorsviadirectinput/output(I/O)performance,
granularscalability,highstoragecapacityefficiencyandmultiapplianceglobalactive/activehigh
availability.
Pivot3offersverticalindustryandspecializedsolutionsthroughitsgrowingbaseofchannelpartners.
Cautions
Pivot3isundergoingthegrowingpainsofrepositioningthecompanyfromitsearliernarrowfocus
andnicheapproachtoabroadersetofmarketopportunities,whileaddingnewexecutivetalentto
supportthistransition.
ManyPivot3channelrelationshipsareatanimmaturestage,whilethecompanydevelopsits
channelandsolutionspartnerstrengthforbroadercoverage.
Pivot3haslimitedhardwareOEMpartneringandlimitedthirdpartysupport.

ScaleComputing
Foundedin2008,ScaleComputingisaprivatelyheldcompanythatisattemptingtopositionitselfasthe
HCISproviderofchoiceforSMBswith50to500employees,whereeaseofuseandpricearethe
paramountdecisioncriteria.ScaleComputing'sfirstproductwasascaleoutstorageclusterthat,with
enhancements,isnowprovidingthestoragelayerofitsHC3virtualizationplatform.Anexperienced
managementteam,arapidlygrowinginstalledbaseofHC3customersandtheabilitytoraisemultiple
relativelysmallroundsofventurecapitalfundinghaveallaidedScaleComputinginthiseffort.
Tolimitunburdenedmanufacturingcosts,thecurrentfamilyofHC3virtualizationplatformsusesan
opensourcehypervisor(basedonKVM)andaWebbasedGUI,andeliminatestheneedforaseparate
physicalmanagementserver.ScaleComputing'sdevelopmentprioritiesaresomewhatcounterbalanced
bytheHC3'suseofRAID10toprotectagainstsolidstatedrive(SSD)andHDDfailures,andviathelack
ofdatareductionservices,suchasdatacompressionanddeduplication.However,theuseofRAID10
doesbenefitperformancebyimprovingthelocalityofreferencebetweenapplicationsrunningvirtual
machinesandthecorrespondingdataprotection.Italsoprovideshighlevelsoflocalityofreferenceto
improveperformancerunningthestoragestackinthekernel.Thisimprovesperformanceandreduces
memoryoverhead.HC3supportstheuseofsnaps,whichprotectagainstlogicalcorruptionproblemsand
asynchronousremotecopy,whichprotectsagainstsitefailures.
Strengths
ScaleComputingistargetingamarketthatisnotwellservicedbylargercompetitors,asthose
competitorshaveinherentlyhighercosts.
ScaleComputinghascreatedascaleoutarchitecturethatcanbeefficientlysizedtoindividual
workloads.
ScaleComputing'stechnologyenablesdirectprovisioningofvirtualmachines.
Cautions
HC3'scurrentlackofdatacompression,deduplicationanderasurecodingasanalternativetoRAID
10coulddependinguponworkloadsnarroworeliminatetheHC3costadvantagerelativeto
otherintegratedsystems.
ManySMBsmaybeunwillingtoswaptheircurrenthypervisor(frequentlyVMwareorHyperV)fora
proprietaryKVMbasedhypervisor,whichmaynotbesupportedbykeyISVs.
SomeITorganizationswillbenervousdoingbusinesswithaprivatelyheldITcompanythathasyet
toproveitslongtermviabilityintheintegratedsystemmarket.

SGI
SGIisrecognizedasaproviderofhighperformancecomputing(HPC),andmostofthecompany's
integratedsystemfocusonmaintainingthisreputation.ThecompanyisgrowingitsHPCmarketshare
forexample,SGI'sshareofthelistofthetop500globalsupercomputershasgrownfromslightlyover
3%to5.8%inthepast18months,whichcompareswellwithvendorslikeLenovo(3.4%),Fujitsu
(2.6%)andDell(2%).
SGIsellsavarietyofsolutions:SGIICEXA,whichistheflagshipproduct,aimedataddressingthemost
complexandchallengingHPCneedsSGIRackableplatform,whichaddressesabroaderspectrumofHPC
requirements,andcanbescaledfromarelativelysmallconfigurationandSGIUV,aplatformintendedto
broadenSGI'sreachbeyonditsHPCroots.SGIhaslaunchedaversionoftheUVaimedatSAPHana
users,andthesystemiscurrentlythelargestcertifiedHanaappliancerecentlyextendedtoaddressup
to20socketsasasinglenode,withsupportfor15TBmemory(andaplanofrecordtofurtherincreaseto
32socketsand24TBofmemoryinthenearfuture).SGIaimstotargetadditionalinmemorycompute
opportunitieswiththisplatform,acrossarangeofmarketsandworkloads.Finally,SGIhasalsotargeted

extremescaleoutworkloadslikeHadoopanddatawarehouseswiththeInfiniteDataCluster,whichcan
supportalmost2PBofstorageperrack.
SGIiswellpositionedinmarketsforHPCandotherextremescaleworkloads,butthecompanymuststill
workhardtoexpanditsinstalledbaseintoverticalmarkets,whereotherbrandsaremoreprevalentand
technologyexcellenceisnotalwaystheprimarydriver.SGI'sinternationalbreadthbeyondtheU.S.is
good,especiallyinEuropeandJapan,buttechnologybuyersshouldvalidatethestrengthofSGI'slocal
skills,especiallyforprojectsoutsideSGI'sHPCdomain.
AnewalliancewithDellshouldenablebothcompaniestoleverageeachother'scomplementarystrengths
indealsituationsthatwouldnormallychallengeeitherthetechnologyportfolioorindustryknowhowof
eachindividualvendor.SGIisexpectedtopursueotherallianceopportunities.
Strengths
AsagloballyrespectedexpertintheHPCmarket,SGIiswellpositionedtobenefitfromthestrong
HPCattributesthatmanyemergingMode2workloadswillexhibit.
SGIisoneofahandfulofvendorstocommandcredibilityamongtheHPCbuyingcommunity,and
hasanaturalannuitybusinessofexistingandnewHPCbuyerslookingtoextendorreplaceexisting
configurations.
ByinvestinginplatformslikeUVandInfiniteDataCluster,andthroughallianceswithvendorslike
SAPandDell,SGIisabletoleverageitstechnologystrengthstotargetworkloadsandcommercial
marketsbeyonditstraditionalindustryfocus.
Cautions
SGI'sstrongandlastingassociationwithHPCcreatesachallengeforthevendortodemonstratethe
aptitudetoaddressbroadermarketneeds.
SGI'sclientbaseisnumericallysmall,whichmakesthecompanydependentonasalesfunnelthat
ispronetospikesanduncertainty.
SGIwillbechallengedtogrowitsSAPviabilitywherevendorslikeHPhaveamuchmoreestablished
footprint,andwherebuyersarelesslikelytobeswayedbyvendorargumentsbasedonastrong
technologyorientation.

SimpliVity
SimpliVityisaBostonbasedHCISvendorthathasmaderapidprogresssinceitsfirstproductshipments
startedin2013.Thecompanyhascapitalizedonthestrongacceptanceoftheterm"hyperconvergence,"
whichisrivaledonlybythemarketinterestincontainersduringthepast12months.SimpliVityhasnot
onlyriddenthehyperconvergencecycle,buthasdifferentiateditselfinacrowdedmarketbyitsuseof
hardwareassistedcompressionanddeduplication.ThisenablesSimpliVitytodeliveranactiveexpansion
strategy,bothtechnicallyandcommerciallytheevidencebeingstrongbottomlinecommercialgrowth
andamarkedincreaseinclientinquiry.SimpliVityhasalsocommencedpartneringwithothervendors,
includinganestablishedOEMrelationshipwithCiscoandrumorsoffurtherpartnershipswithothermajor
systemvendors.ThishaspropelledSimpliVityintoconsiderationformanyCIOs'portfolios.Diversityand
solutionbreadthisdemonstratedbytheSimpliVityclaimthatoverhalfitsclientsruntheircompleteIT
infrastructuresontheSimpliVitybrandedsolution.
SimpliVity'svisionremainsstrongin2015,withthemainimprovementreflectedinconsistentexecution.
Thishasincludedexpansionandgrowthonallfrontsfromastrong,earlyVDIbase.Otherusecases,like
missioncriticalworkloads,ERP,highavailability/disasterrecoveryandDBMSclustersarebeing
increasinglyimplementedbySimpliVity,butstillneedqualifyingwithvalidreferencesespeciallyacross
allgeographiesandverticals.However,theseworkloadsrepresentnuancesandopportunitiesthat
SimpliVityandotherHCISvendorsaregraspingwithsuccess.Duringthenextyear,weexpectSimpliVity
tofurtherimproveonscalability,loadbalancing,failover/fallbackcapabilities,HAfunctions,remote
replication,stretchclusterdeploymentsandtofurtherexpandhypervisor/containersupport.Thisshould
helpSimpliVityimproverelativeproductattractivenessanddrivecontinuedrevenuegrowthinthecoming
years,whichthecompanycanmosteasilyexpandthroughincrementalsalestoitsSMB/midmarketbase.
However,forenterpriseusers,SimpliVity'sreplicationtechniqueswilloftenoverlapwithotherdomain
replication,suchasstorage,VM,cluster,DBMSandfilesystem.ThisputstheonusonSimpliVitytoprove
abusinesscasefordisplacingincumbenttechnologies.
Strengths
SimpliVityhasbeenabletogrowitsvaluepropositionfromafoundationofprojectbased
opportunitieslikeVDI,toaddressaneverbroadervarietyofmissioncriticalusecases.Thishas
developedfromSMB/midmarketgrowthtoincreasinglydisplaceexistingenterpriseInfrastructure.
TheHCImodularityofOmniCubeenableshighscalinginsmallserver/storageincrementsandithas
ahighlyinnovativedesignthatincorporatesinlinededuplicationanddatacompressionatorigin,
andprovidesaglobalnamespaceandnativevirtualmachinebackup.
SimpliVity'smanagementtoolsconnecttoexistingmanagementframeworksviastandardAPIs
(vCenter/OpenStack),andwideareasupportfacilitatesbusinesscontinuitystrategiesand
managementofremotesites.
Cautions
Clientsshouldvalidatethepreandpostsalescapabilitiesoflocalchannelpartners(especiallyoutside
NorthAmerica).
SimpliVityismorematureatsellingtoSMB/midmarketcustomers.Forgreatersuccessinsellingto
enterprisecustomers,thecompanyneedstoprovearobustbusinesscasetodisplaceexisting
solutionsthataddresstheHAanddisasterrecoveryneedsestablishedintheenterpriseportfolio.
BecauseshipmentsofOmniCubebeganinearly2013,theinstalledbaseisstillgrowingfroma
foundationthatwasinitiallyskewedtowardprojectslikeVDI.Usersshouldqualifymorecomplexuse
casesusingrelevantreferenceclients,preferablyinthesameverticalindustryand/orregion.

Teradata
Teradata'soriginsdatebackto1979,althoughthecompanyspentmanyyearsasadivisionofNCRbefore
beingspunoutin2007.Thecompanyhasbeenshippingintegratedsystemsforover15years,although
alwayswithastrongfocusonbusinessintelligence.ThecompanyisbasedinDayton,Ohio,andhas

officesaroundtheglobe.
Teradatahasalwaysmaintainedastrongpresenceintheenterprisedatawarehouseandanalytics
market,andhasaveryloyalinstalledbase.Butitcompetesontwofronts:First,itcompeteswithMoore's
Lawinthatthehardwareneededtoaddressitsaverageworkloadshalvesevery18months.Second,it
competesagainwithMoore'sLawinthatitscompetitorsdoubletheircapabilitiesyearoveryear.Asa
result,Teradataisincreasinglydeliveringitsgreatestvalueanddifferentiationthroughsoftware,although
muchofthecompany'svalueandmarginisdependentonsalesofservers,disksandotherhardware.
Withtheadventoflargeinmemoryandvirtualizedmissioncriticalworkloads,Teradataisfacingrenewed
competitionfrommajorsystemvendorswiththegrowingmarketfocusonlargeorinmemoryanalytics
forSAP,SQLServer,OracleorHadoop.Individually,thetechnologiesslowlyerodetheTeradatavalue
proposition,butcollectivelytheymeanthatTeradataisstretchedtodifferentiateonmanyfronts.This
placesevergreateremphasisonTeradata'sabilitytofindnewcustomersandnotrelyonchurningthe
base.ButwithpartnerslikeSAPincreasinglyinvestinginsoftwareproductsthatcompetewithTeradata
(forexample,SAPHana),thisincreasesthepotentialforestablishedmainstreamhardwarevendorslike
Dell,HPandCiscotomarginalizethebusinesscaseforTeradata.
Strengths
Teradatahasaveryloyalinstalledbaseandcommunity,andstrongsalesandserviceareassociated
withTeradata'sstackandinfrastructure.
Teradataoffersaportfolioofprovenintegratedsystems,whichbuildonthecompany'sstrongorigins
asanenterprisedatawarehouse(EDW)solutionandsupportagrowingrangeofanalyticsneeds.
Teradata'ssolutionsarebuiltondifferentiatedsoftwareandswitchcapabilitiesthatharness
commoditycomponentsfromhardwarepartnerstoachievemaximumbusinessvalue.
Cautions
Teradataisunabletopreventitsusersfrombeingexposedtomorechoicesandalternate
architecturesorsolutionsthroughtheintroductionofcompetitiveopensourceand/orinmemory
databasesanddiskcachingtechnologiesfrommajorsystemvendors.
Teradataisstillprimarilyperceivedasahighendsolutionthatisrelativelyexpensive.
TeradataonlyaddressesthemarketsforEDW/analytics,andhaslimitedfocusonopportunitiesfor
alternateand/ortransactionalworkloads.

VendorsAddedandDropped
WereviewandadjustourinclusioncriteriaforMagicQuadrantsandMarketScopesasmarketschange.As
aresultoftheseadjustments,themixofvendorsinanyMagicQuadrantorMarketScopemaychange
overtime.Avendor'sappearanceinaMagicQuadrantorMarketScopeoneyearandnotthenextdoes
notnecessarilyindicatethatwehavechangedouropinionofthatvendor.Itmaybeareflectionofa
changeinthemarketand,therefore,changedevaluationcriteria,orofachangeoffocusbythatvendor.

Added
ThefollowingvendorswereaddedtothisMagicQuadrant:
CiscoThe2014versionofthisMagicQuadrantassessedCiscoandNetAppjointly,astheirFlexPod
partnershipwasexclusive.Cisconowhascomparablerelationshipswithseveralotherstorage
vendors,namelyEMC,IBM,NimbleandHitachi.CiscoalsohasallianceswithHCISvendorslike
Maxta,SimpliVityandAtlantis.Asaresult,itisappropriatetoassessCiscoindividually.
EMC(VCE)EMCwasindirectlyrepresentedinthe2014versionofthisMagicQuadrantthrough
thepartialownershipofVCE.BecauseVCEisnowfullycontrolledbyEMC,andEMChasmanyother
integratedsysteminterests,itisnowappropriatetoreflectthetransitionfromVCEtoEMC.
GridstoreGridstoreisaprivatelyownedHCISstartupthathasachievedenoughclientshipments
tobecomeeligiblefortheMagicQuadrantthisyear.
LenovoThe2014versionofthisMagicQuadrantassessedIBM.Inlate2014,Lenovoacquired
IBM'sx86serverbusiness,whichincludedthePureFlexintegratedsystemrange,althoughIBM
continuestosellothercategoriesofintegratedsystems.Asaresult,Lenovobecameavalidvendor
forthisdocument.
NetAppWhiletheCiscorelationshipremainsNetApp'sprimarymarketactivity,thecompanyis
alsoanactivememberoftheVMwareEvo:Railprogram,soitisappropriatetoassessNetApp
individually.
NimboxxNimboxxisaprivatelyownedHCISstartupthathasachievedenoughclientshipments
tobecomeeligiblefortheMagicQuadrantthisyear.
Pivot3Pivot3isaprivatelyownedHCISstartupthathasachievedenoughclientshipmentsto
becomeeligiblefortheMagicQuadrantthisyear.
ScaleComputingScaleComputingisaprivatelyownedHCISstartupthathasachievedenough
clientshipmentstobecomeeligiblefortheMagicQuadrantthisyear.

Dropped
ThefollowingvendorshavebeendroppedfromthisMagicQuadrant:
BullAtosacquiredBullin2014.Atosisnotyettargetingthismarket(althoughwebelieveitwill
inthefuture).Bullhassubsequentlybeendropped.
UnisysTheUnisysForwardsolutionistechnicallyinnovativeandactivelymarketedbyUnisysasa
solutionformainframeandx86users.Butmarketmomentumforthex86varianthasbeenvery
slowandwewerenotabletoidentifyenoughprovenmarketachievementtocreateavalidanalysis.

OtherVendorstoConsider
Therearemanymorevendorsinthemarketthanthisresearchcanrepresent.Somevendorswillbe
significantparticipantsinasingledomesticmarket,butlackglobalreach.Otherssellpuresoftware
solutionsthataredifficulttoassessalongsidehardwarebasedalternatives.Butforsomeenduserclients,
thesevendorsmaydeserveconsideration.Wehavebrieflydescribedsevensuchvendorsbelow:

AtlantisComputingAtlantisisaventurecapitalistbackedstartupwithawellprovensoftware
basedHCISsolution.ThecompanyhassoldextensivelyoutsideitsU.S.domesticmarket,butwas
notconsideredeligibleforthisMagicQuadrantbecausetherewasnohardwaresolutioncertifiedby
thecompany.InMay2015,Atlantisremediedthis,withthelaunchofacompanybranded,allflash
HCISappliancenamedHyperScale,whichisbasedonSupermicrohardwarethatissoldand
supportedbyAtlantis.Thecompanyalsooffersfactorypreintegratedhardware/softwaresolutions
basedonHP,Lenovo,DellorCiscohardware,withsupportalsomanagedbyAtlantisitself.Withover
800customersglobally,Atlantisisalreadyawellprovensolutionforuserswhowanttocreatetheir
ownHCISexperienceonexistinghardware.
InspurInspurisalocalizedproviderofintegratedsystems.Inspurfocusesonhighend
applicationareassuchasbigdataandfinancialservicesoptimizedproducts,brandedInCloudAIO.
However,duetoInspur'sgeographicfocusonChina,itdidnotmeettheinclusioncriteriaforthis
MagicQuadrant.
MaxtaMaxtaisaprivatelyheldstartupwithasoftwaresolutioncalledMaxtaStoragePlatform
(MxSP)thatiscertifiedonhardwarefrommultiplevendors,includingCisco,Dell,HP,Lenovo,
QuantaandSupermicro.Intheory,theMxSPsolutionshouldrunonanysuitablex86platform,with
supportformultiplehypervisorsandOpenStack.Maxtahasdevelopedwithpartnersafamilyof
referencearchitectureappliances(usingthebrandMaxDeploy)thatleverageMxSPforseveralmajor
serverplatforms.Butwithnobrandedhardwaresolutionofitsown,Maxtadoesnotyetmeet
Gartner'sinclusioncriteria.
NECNECisoneofthemostprominentITvendorsinJapan,andithasstrongbrandrecognition
initshomemarket.Since2010,NEChasshippedanintegratedsystemcalledCloudPlatformSuite.
ThestrategywiththatproducthasfurthermaturedundertheNECSolutionPlatformsbranding
since2013.NECsellsabroadportfolioofeligibleintegratedsystems,includingCloudPlatformSuite
forcloudservices,DataPlatformSuitefordataaccumulationandanalysis,andApplicationPlatform
Suitforverticalorientedapplications.AlthoughNECpromotesitstechnologyoutsideJapan(using
thebrandNblockIntegratedITInfrastructuretotargetdatacenterbuyersintheU.S.andother
countries),itsinternationalprogresshasbeenlimitedmainlytoverticals,forexample,itsApplication
PlatformforHotelssolutionsoldintheU.S.Withfewchannelpartnersandlimitedrecognition
outsideJapan,NEChasyettomakethelevelofrequiredinternationalinvestmentthatwouldmake
itaviableglobalvendor.
StratoscaleWithoperationsintheU.S.andIsrael,Stratoscalehasmaderapidprogressto
achieveSeriesBfundingforitsHCISSoftwareDefinedDataCenter(SDDC)strategy.The
Stratoscalesolutionisforwardlookingandtargetsserviceprovidersandenterprises.Stratoscale
claimstobringabottomupapproachtosolvingthestorage,compute,networking,virtualization
andmanagementaspectsinonesoftwaresolution,enablinguserstogofrombaremetaltoafully
loadedcloudinamatterofminutes.ThecompanysupportsbothitsownKVMbasedhypervisorand
containersaswellasOpenStack,withplanstoaccommodateadditionalAmazonAPIsinthenear
future.Stratoscaleisanadvocateof"bringyourownhardware,"andhasnobrandedhardware
solution,whichhasmadeitineligibleforinclusion.
SupermicroSupermicrodeservesmentionduetoitsparticipationinthehyperconvergedmarket
asakeyproviderofofftheshelfandcustomengineeredproductstokeyHCISprovidersincludedor
referencedinthisanalysis,suchasAtlantis,EMCandPivot3.Supermicrodoesnotofferitsown
brandedproductsthatqualifyforinclusion,butthecompanyisacertifiedvendorinthenascent
Evo:Railmarket.
UnisysWeincludedUnisysinthisreportin2014.Ourdatabaseofinquiriesindicateslimited
shipments,revenueandmarketinterest.Unisyshasconsequentlyfailedtosatisfytheinclusion
criteriaforthisresearchduetothelimitedacceptanceandadoption.ButITbuyerswithastrong
Unisysallegianceshouldconsiderthesolutionifitsatisfiesperformanceandusecaserequirements.

InclusionandExclusionCriteria
WehavedefinedthefollowinginclusionandexclusioncriteriaforinclusioninthisMagicQuadrant:
Integratedsystemsmusthaveservers,storage,networkandamanagementsoftwarelayer.Some
vendorswillnothaveanintegratednetworkingswitchintheirhardware,butwilldeliversomeorall
ofthefunctionalityinthevirtualizationsoftwarelayer.
Softwareonlyintegratedsystemsdonotqualifyatthistime,asthecustomerortheintegrator
wouldhavetolayerthesoftwareontopofthirdpartyhardware,andintegrateandsupportthe
offering.
Iftheenduserhastodotheintegration,thetechnologyisnotanintegratedsystemthatisvalidfor
inclusionhowever,itmaybeaneligiblereferencearchitecturethatdeliversanintegratedsystem
experience.This,again,eliminatessoftwareonlysolutions,becausethecustomershaveto
configuretheirownhardware.Thevaluepropositionofanintegratedsystemshouldremovethe
needforrackingandstackingfromthecustomers'hands.
Asystemthatshipswithjustabunchofdisks(JBOD)storageisnotaneligibleintegratedsystem,
unlessthevendordeliversintegratedmanagementcapabilitiesforthestorageandrelatedprocesses
(suchaswhathyperconvergencevendorsprovidethroughfunctionalitysuchasdatacompression,
deduplication,backupanddatarecoveryofworkloads).
Thesupportaspectisconsideredcrucial.Wheretwoormorevendorspartner,webelievethat
supportLevel1(callcenter/servicedesk)andsupportLevel2(escalation)mustbeintegrated
betweentheorganizationstofacilitatequickandeasyproblemresolution.However,supportLevel3
(engineering)canstillbedeliveredseparatelyfortheindividualcomponentsofintegratedsystems
basedonvendorpartnerships.
Eligiblevendorsmusthaveshippedgeneralavailabilityintegratedsystemsforatleastsixmonths
(priortotheperiodending31March2015)acrossatleasttwoofthefollowingmajorgeographies:
theAmericas,EMEAandAsia/Pacific.
Thevendormustbeabletoprovideaminimumoffivefullproductioncustomerreferences,withat
leastthreeoutsidethehomegeographyofthevendor.
Avendormayhavemorethanoneintegratedsolutioninitsportfolio,ofwhichthisresearch
assessestheoverallcombinedsolutionandthevendor'seffectivenessasasinglerepresentation.
Wherevendorsareworkingtogether,theymustdemonstrateprovencollaborationregarding
engineering,laboratorycoordination,certifications,qualificationsandtesting.

EvaluationCriteria
AbilitytoExecute
Themarketforintegratedsystemsiscomplex,withgreaterdependencyonveryspecifictechnology
choices.ForourassessmentofProductorService,weexaminedthedegreeofsoftwareintegration
availablefromthevendororimplementationpartners,plusthevendor'sabilitytodeliveronroadmap
promises.SalesExecution/Pricingexaminesbothdirectandindirectexecution,asmostintegration
systemstrategiesarehighlydependentontheroleoflocalchannelpartners.Wehavealsoincreasedthe
weightingforcustomerexperienceversusthe2014versionofthisMagicQuadrant,aswebelievethisisa
crucialmeasureofsuccessinanincreasinglycongestedmarketwithmanynewplayers.

Table1.AbilitytoExecuteEvaluation
Criteria
EvaluationCriteria

Weighting

ProductorService

High

OverallViability

High

SalesExecution/Pricing

High

MarketResponsiveness/Record

Medium

MarketingExecution

High

CustomerExperience

High

Operations

Medium

Source:Gartner(August2015)

CompletenessofVision
Themarketforintegratedsystemsiscomplex,withgreaterdependencyonveryspecifictechnology
choices.TheSalesStrategycriterionforCompletenessofVisionassessesboththedirectstrategyandthe
channelpartnerstrategy.Offering(Product)Strategyfocusesonthebreadthofthetotalsolution
(includingsoftwareintegration),theinvestmentinmanagementtoolsandthetechnologyportfolio
breadth.BusinessModelexaminestheimplementationservicesthatareavailablethroughthevendoror
channelpartners,andthevarietyofsolutionsandusecasesthatcanbeaddressed.

Table2.CompletenessofVision
EvaluationCriteria
EvaluationCriteria

Weighting

MarketUnderstanding

High

MarketingStrategy

Medium

SalesStrategy

Medium

Offering(Product)Strategy

High

BusinessModel

Medium

Vertical/IndustryStrategy

Medium

Innovation

High

GeographicStrategy

Medium

Source:Gartner(August2015)

QuadrantDescriptions
Leaders
Marketleaderswilltypicallybeabletoexecutestronglyacrossmultiplegeographiesandothermarket
segments,withintegratedsystemsthatcoveratleasttwo,ifnotallthreeofthemultiplemarket
categories(ISS,IISandHCIS).Theywillalsohaveactivereferencearchitectureinitiativestoaddress
verticalandothermorespecializedopportunities.

Challengers
Challengersaretypicallyvendorswithprovenglobalpresenceandmarketachievement,whoonlytargeta
narrowersubsetofthemarket,orwhohavenotyetestablishedthemselvesacrossthebroadermarket.

Visionaries
Thesearetypicallyvendorswhoarefocusingonstronginnovationandproductdifferentiation,butwho
aresmallervendorswithlimitedreach,orlargervendorswithinnovationprogramsthatarestill
unproven.

NichePlayers
Manyintegratedsystemvendorswilladdressamorenarrowmarketniche,ortheymaybevendors
whosemarketprogramshavenotyetestablishedtheirdifferentiationand/orexecutionability.However,
allvendorswillhavemettheinclusioncriteriaandmayaddresstheirspecificmarketcategorywithgreat
effect.

Context
Themarketforintegratedsystemshasundergonesignificantchangeduringthepast12monthsboth

intermsofthenumberofvendorsaddressingthemarket,andthearchitecturalcharacteristicsofthe
technologybeingsold.Thedividinglinesbetweenintegratedsystemsandotherformsofdatacenter
infrastructurewhichwerealreadyblurredbytheintegratedsystemtrendhavebecomeevenmore
imprecisewiththeoverlapbetweenintegratedsystemsandSDS,andtheadventofsoftwareonly
vendorsthatpursuea"bringyourownhardware"strategy.Thenetresulthasbeenasurgeinthe
volumeandtypeofclientinquiries,whichthisresearchshouldhelpaddressintermsofvendorselection
andbetterunderstandingofanorganization'sintegratedsystemneeds.
Theemergenceofhyperconvergedintegratedsystemshascreatedtheeffectofagenerationalshiftinthe
integratedsystemmarket.Untillastyear,establishedsystemvendorsaddressedthenascentintegrated
systemmarketwithpreintegratedhardwarecomprisingserver,networkandstorage.Vendorshave
usuallyutilizedexistingtechnologyelements,suchasbladeserversandSANs,tocreateanintegrated
systemexperiencefromtechnologythatisusuallysoldseparatelythroughotherchannels.Thisfirst
generationmarketisstillvalidandviabletoday,dependingontheusecase.Throughappropriate
planning,configurationanalysisandconsultationwiththevendor,theuserispromiseddeliveryofaself
sustainingandsupportedsystemthatrequireslittleongoingmaintenanceandoperationsmanagement.
Thevaluepropositionmostattractivetotheseorganizationsistheoffloadedoperationsmanagementand
optimizationofallthemovingpartsthatmakeupthedeliveryplatform.Manyenduserorganizations
investinthesesystemstobethecentralizedfoundationforcloudservicesanddatacenter
modernization/virtualizationinitiatives.Thecommongoaloftheseinitiativesisalwaysafocuson
automatedmanagementoftheresourcespresentedbythesystemtoenablequickandagileresponsesto
enterprisebusinessneeds.Cloudandotherserviceprovidersinvestinsuchsystemsmorerarelynow,
eventhoughtheyweretheprimarytargetmarketformostearlyintegratedsystemstrategies.
IntegratedsystemsbasedonbladeserversandSANsweregenerallyregardedastooexpensiveand
inflexiblebytheserviceprovidercommunity,whichhasyettodemonstraterenewedinterestin
hyperconvergencefortheirhardwareinvestments.
Althougheverymajorsystemvendorhasenteredtheintegratedsystemmarket,notwohavethesame
equipment,softwareandservicesforthevarietyofsolutionsandworkloadsthatITwantstodeliver.
Therefore,whiletheintegratedsystemapproachoffershighpotentialreturns,theyarenotcumulative
acrossvendors.Inotherwords,eachvendorintegrateswithinitsownsilooftechnologies(oramixtureof
technologiesfromalliedvendors).However,integratingdifferentintegratedsystemstocoexistwell
together,asiftheywereabestofbreedchoice,remainsacomplextaskthatfew,ifany,vendorsseekto
simplify.
Thesecondgenerationmarketishardertoquantify,andintroducesnewblurringwithSDSandother
softwaredefineddisciplines.Hyperconvergedvendorstypicallycharacterizethemselvesasbeingprimarily
(a)softwarevendors,and(b)storagevendors.
Inotherwords,thesevendorsbelievetheirprimaryaddedvalueisdeliveredviathesoftwarestack,which
seekstointegratehighlystandardizedhardwarecomponentsintoasinglefunctioningsystem.Theyalso
focusmoreondeliveringdataresilienceandrobustness,andefficientlytransportingdatathroughthe
system.ThisisnecessaryfortheHCISvendorstoconvincetheirbuyersthatinexpensivehardwarenodes
withcomputeanddirectattachedstoragecanbeaviablereplacementforthenaturaldataintegritythat
SANsareabletodeliveralbeitatrelativelyhighcostcomparedwithHCISalternatives.Thissecond
generationofintegratedsystemsisdominatedbyenterprisingstartups,manyofwhichareincludedin
thisresearch.Butthetrendisalsospawningnewinitiativesbythemajorsystemvendors,suchas
VMware'sEvo:Railstrategythatisnowsupportedbymostmajorservervendors.Finally,assystem
vendorslaunchnewgenerationbladechassistechnologies,thesearelikelytoblurthedistinction
betweenserversandintegratedsystemsfurtheryet.
Sowhilehyperconvergencedoesrepresentanewgeneration,itbecomesmoreadditiveratherthan
cannibalisticatleastintheshortterm.HCISsolutionsareabletoextendtheaddressablemarketfor
integratedsystems,andmanyorganizationswillbuyanHCISsolutiontoaddressmoredistributedor
workloadorientedneeds,thatwillcoexistwithanintegratedsystembasedonacombinationofbladeand
SANbasedtechnologythatislocatedinthecentralizeddatacenter.
Asalways,thechoiceoftherightintegratedsystemsolutionshouldrarelybemadebytheITorganization
aloneadditionalstakeholdersneedtobepartofthedecisionprocessaroundacquisitionand
consumption.Asdatacentertechnologybecomesincreasinglymodular,ITorganizations,procurement
departments,linesofbusinessandassetcontroldepartmentsmustreassesslifecycleanddepreciation
planningapproaches,aswellaspurchasingpolicies,toaccountfortheunpredictablelifespansof
integratedsystems.

MarketOverview
Theintegratedsystemmarketisgrowingrapidly,albeitfromalowbase.AccordingtoGartnerstatistics,
integratedsystemsalesgrew30.4%over2013,totaling$8.7billionandconstitutingapproximately10%
ofallserver,externalcontrollerbasedstorageanddatacenternetworkingspendbytheendof2014.
Theconceptoftheintegratedsystemisnothingnew,yetthepowerofcustomerpullforthisclassof
systemhasdefinedaneweraand,thus,anewopportunityfordatacenterinfrastructurevendors.This
neweraofvendoractivityemergedaround2010andhascaughtindustryattention,notablybythe
entranceofmanytraditionaldatacenterinfrastructureOEMsandtheemergenceofmanyventure
capitalist(VC)fundedstartups.Today,VCactivityintheintegratedsystemmarketisarguablythe
strongestithasbeenformanyyears,andmanyoftheVCfundedstartupsfocusonHCIS.WhileHCISis
stillconsiderednascent,itisthefastestgrowingsegmentwithintheintegratedsystemmarket,
accountingforjustunder5%ofintegratedsystemrevenuein2014.
Ascustomerexpectationmatures,sotoodoesproviderunderstandingandinnovation.Assuch,the
integratedsystemmarketisbeginningtogrowinnuance,butusersshouldstillconsidermanyofthe
integratedsystemproductsasadolescent,meaningmoreinnovation,andimportantly,morechangeisto
come.Asthemarketdevelops,wecanexpecttoseefurthernumbersofstartuporganizationseagerto
enter.Wewillseeconsolidation,assomestartupsfailorgetacquired,andwewillseeexisting
partnershipsandcoalitionsthrive,evolveanddisperse.Wecanalsoexpecttoseetheoncerigid,easily
definablemarketsegmentsbegintoblur,asprovidersevolvetheirofferings,integratenewtechnologies
andexpandtheirmarketaddressabilitywithnewproductstrategies.

2015Gartner,Inc.and/oritsaffiliates.Allrightsreserved.GartnerisaregisteredtrademarkofGartner,Inc.oritsaffiliates.Thispublicationmaynotbe

reproducedordistributedinanyformwithoutGartnerspriorwrittenpermission.Ifyouareauthorizedtoaccessthispublication,youruseofitissubjecttothe
UsageGuidelinesforGartnerServicespostedongartner.com.Theinformationcontainedinthispublicationhasbeenobtainedfromsourcesbelievedtobereliable.
Gartnerdisclaimsallwarrantiesastotheaccuracy,completenessoradequacyofsuchinformationandshallhavenoliabilityforerrors,omissionsorinadequacies
insuchinformation.ThispublicationconsistsoftheopinionsofGartnersresearchorganizationandshouldnotbeconstruedasstatementsoffact.Theopinions
expressedhereinaresubjecttochangewithoutnotice.AlthoughGartnerresearchmayincludeadiscussionofrelatedlegalissues,Gartnerdoesnotprovidelegal
adviceorservicesanditsresearchshouldnotbeconstruedorusedassuch.Gartnerisapubliccompany,anditsshareholdersmayincludefirmsandfundsthat
havefinancialinterestsinentitiescoveredinGartnerresearch.GartnersBoardofDirectorsmayincludeseniormanagersofthesefirmsorfunds.Gartnerresearch
isproducedindependentlybyitsresearchorganizationwithoutinputorinfluencefromthesefirms,fundsortheirmanagers.Forfurtherinformationonthe
independenceandintegrityofGartnerresearch,seeGuidingPrinciplesonIndependenceandObjectivity.

AboutGartner|Careers|Newsroom|Policies|SiteIndex|ITGlossary|ContactGartner