I know where you’re coming from, and I want to stress again that it is not top of the requirements list.

I used to think the same as you (that it doesnt matter at all), and I think most techies like us think like that. However, this is a marketing issue and good techies like yourself arent always the best at marketing. Whereas Chuck and BarryB are both in marketing

Most top vendors already spend some effort in trying making their Data Centre kit look good. EMC we all know about. IBM used to provide shark fins for the top of their ESS kit. The USP V was supposed to look like the Matrix. NetApp had the toaster thing, 3PAR have the yellow thing going on……. So most vendors already thinks it matters. Even the Hitachi AIX box pictured in the article above has had somebody design it (albeit the wrong person).

Sadly (from a techie perspective) marketing matters. I have to wonder…. if EMC were to release an Enginuity Rev on existing hardware the same day that Hitachi or IBM released an entirely new version of their flagship storage products (hardware and microcode), who would get the most airtime? Probably EMC.

Also, names like “VMAX”, the old “Tagmastore”, “Nexus” and the likes all go to show that branding and image matters to the vendors. It’s about getting the right balance.

Heck, we’re not likely to see any vendors releasing their flagship products with brown paisley doors or bright pink flowery doors are we. And for good reason, image matters.

While its not a top priority, I maintain my stance that because its so easy to achieve, vendors have no excuses for hiding exciting products behind dull exteriors.

NOTE: I use the term “exciting” loosely in the sentence above

Just my penny’s worth.

Nigel

When it comes to industrial design arguably the leader today is Apple.  Their design is minimalist, by intent, and they aggressively practice the art of removing things from their systems within a design and between designs.  For example on their servers there aren't any bezels at all, their LEDs that signal things like their camera in operation disappear when the cameras aren't in use, etc.  So for Apple their key design criteria, I think, is best summarized by making the functional elegant and integral to the form of the design, or said another way form follows function.

There are also other complex issues that come into play, for example business intent and the message of the brand that you want convey for the long term — like say for 100 years.  Also in this era of increasing focus on sustainability having a brand that radiates persistence, arguably, may be more valuable — this is my opinion. Another area of balance to focus on is beauty versus usability, where the sexiest design is not always the most usable.  In fact as someone who is schooled in quantitative and qualitative usability testing sometimes it is an ugly design that is the most usable, which may seem counterintuitive.  

So in conclusion, while I would like to see sexier things, it is necessary to strike a balance with engineering, industrial design and usability to achieve what is best for the end user.

Thanks for your comments.

But why settle for one or the other when both (form AND function) are easily achievable!?

Nigel

If you're concerned about your data, and making sure it's highly available, secure and the system won't break down – who would you trust with your data?  The system that looks good but runs terribly, has too much down time or down-right fails, or the reliable, secure and available one?

Just some food for thought. 

If it looks cool then it should also give the person who is showing it off – be that a dc manager / techie or a mkg geek (pun intended) something to help them do their job. I've worked in the past for a vendor who's lights on the front actually sold more kit – those lights told you how the box was performing – and yeah they went red when it was .. in need of help.

It looked cool, sold more and helped when you needed confirmation – a bit of design thought and … spark could act as a visual catalyst  to any well designed storage "box"…

(btw:  badges from those said boxes are now  sought after )

Techmute. I appreciate that its not the most important thing about an array. My point is that its a quick and easy win.

Matthew, thanks for pointing out the link to the skins- top quality!  Also thanks for pointing out that these discussions are happening elsewhere.

Nigel

But the two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. We try to keep the cabinet design folks from writing software. And the marketing folks, for that matter.

The systems need a door, so its not a big expense to make it attractive. And indeed, the block gloss on the VMAX door was inspired by the polished look and feel of common handheld devices…

I mean have you ever bought something that's ugly? I'm trying to think of something, but I can't. Even if I'm buying something like a pen, I'll probably look to see what colours there are or if it looks "nice". Or things like loft insulation, you'll never see it, but most of the time you'd opt to buy the nice bright pink roles over a dull grey role

This could just be me – Maybe I'm just shallow!