New Speedier Storage System From EMC Could Leave Rivals In Dust, Analysts Say; Details To Emerge On Monday.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)

Byline: BRIAN DEAGON

A new line of storage products from EMC Corp. is expected to put the fear back in its competitors. EMC won't talk about what's coming until Monday, but enough information has leaked out to keep the storage industry buzzing for weeks. Several analysts have issued reports on what it could be. And EMC rivals -- IBM Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and Hewlett-Packard Co. -- all contacted the media to talk about EMC's announcement in advance. EMC could use some good news. It's been losing market share to IBM and Hitachi at the high end of the market for about two years, say analysts. The new products may be what it needs to fight back.

Perhaps as a way to detract attention from EMC's news, IBM will make its own storage announcements on Monday. Hitachi and HP, meanwhile, already announced storage product upgrades in the last two weeks.

"Everybody wants to make sure their story gets told," said Robert Schultz, HP vice president of marketing and solutions "We find it interesting how much media hype this announcement has generated. We're not concerned."

He should be concerned, analysts say, especially if the new EMC product lives up to the rumors.

The announcement centers around EMC's Symmetrix line of storage systems. The company will unveil the sixth wave of the product line -- called Symmetrix 6 -- which includes five new storage devices.

The speed of the systems is expected to far exceed that of current fare.