Fibre Channel switch hotshot Brocade Communications Inc’s latest OEM win is Data General Corp, which will package Brocade’s SilkWorm switches with its Clariion arrays for use in storage area networks (SANs). It’s an interesting choice given Data General is currently being bought by EMC Corp, which has its own Connectrix Fibre Channel switch courtesy of its McData unit which offers twice the number of connections (32) than Silkworm.
EMC Corp is buying Data General to address the mid-market opportunity at which Clariion is aimed at. Brocade appears to be leading the Fibre Channel switch market and recently won IBM Corp as an OEM partner. Brocade said it turned down an investment offer from Sun Microsystems Inc which would have seen Sun OEM its equipment too. Sun went off and cut a deal with Brocade and McData rival Ancor Communications. Other Fibre Channel switch vendors include Gadzoox and Vixel.
Currently a darling on Wall Street, Brocade’s share price had already reached a high by Monday lunchtime when it climbed more than 10% or $15.44 to $167.69. The company only went public in May when it launched its IPO at $33. Last week Brocade reported net income of $1.6m compared with loss of $8.1m time on revenue which rose to $20.1m over $4.6m. Earnings per share were $0.06. It has $76m cash and a market value of well over $4bn.
