Dependent on one supplier or manufacturer?
Rather not!

In our industry, we are increasingly seeing the trend of storage hardware vendors and/or manufacturers becoming involved in software. And vice versa. This seems to have some advantages, but there is also a downside. In our new blog, we highlight both sides.

More and more manufacturers of backup and/or archive storage software are also offering their own hardware storage. For example, a software manufacturer then also offers cloud storage under its own name. Or even on-premise storage. The other way around is also increasingly common: manufacturers of storage hardware increasingly marketing associated software. Hardware and software are thus increasingly put under one umbrella. A company that previously made only software and excelled in it is now starting to produce hardware as well.

Connecting well!

You might think that’s a good development. After all, that’s how you know that the components hardware and software fit together just fine, since it comes from the same manufacturer. Compare it to cars: an original part of a car, produced by the manufacturer of the car, will fit perfectly and work together. But beware! Nine times out of ten, a hardware manufacturer is not a storage software specialist. A leading software manufacturer will certainly not readily share specific features and secrets of good backup software with a hardware vendor, thus becoming a direct competitor. And vice versa just the same.

Innovation and knowledge

Theoretically, of course, it is not impossible for a software producer to produce good hardware and vice versa. But in practice, it is usually the case that a specialized development department has much more experience and knowledge in a particular direction. Certainly, a hardware manufacturer can acquire or buy out a software peer. But even then, knowledge and innovativeness are often lacking. In fact, specialized companies are increasingly seeking that innovation. More universal parties are often good at their core business but lack precisely these specializations.

Lock-in!

As stated above, it remains not impossible that a good match will emerge despite our objections. However, the big driver behind such a match is always customer loyalty. Keeping away from competitors and higher sales. It then becomes difficult for the customer to switch to other hardware or software. And that may still be desirable, because as a customer, for example, you run into certain constraints. So you can become reliant on one supplier against your will. Who can then, for example, increase license fees. If over time you want to switch to different hardware or software, such a vendor may suddenly charge a migration license. A classic vendor lock-in!