Top Ten Private Storage Networking Companies

A brand new Website deserves a brand new Top 10 list, we always say.

Its not a new concept, of course. We borrowed the idea for a Top 10 list
from our sister publication, Light Reading. (They, in turn, pinched it
off some TV guy.)

Welcome, then, to our Top 10 Private Storage Networking Companies. These are the companies we think are most likely to make
it to the equity finish line – either via a fat IPO or a nice juicy
acquisition. Finding most of them wasn’t hard, given that for the
most part they’re the companies that are causing the biggest buzz in
the storage networking industry.

Several themes emerged during the research for these rankings. No fewer than
five of the companies we picked are building systems that combine Fibre
Channel and IP technology. Three of them cite Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: BRCD) as their number one
competitor. Four say they’re gunning for EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC).

Not all the list’s leitmotive are positive. Despite the buzz around
Cereva and 3Par, both companies are reportedly suffering from the funding
malaise that is rampant in the tech industry as a whole – hence their places
lower down our league table.