Big Data or Big Hype? – by Zsolt Kerekes

Friday, March 9th, 2012 at 12:20 pm

The following is an email that I received from Zsolt Kerekes, Editor of STORAGEsearch.com. If you have not checked out his blog, it is very informative. I stumbled upon it because I wanted to take a closer look at the storage sector. As a former media banker, storage was like potatoes or hot sauce to me – who knew there were so many different types?!

The following is an email excerpt from Zsolt that I would like to share. He provides some insights regarding Big Data.

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John thanks for your comments and question.

re – big data or is it big hype?

It can be real or it can be hype.

True big data architecture (for SSD) starts at the internal level of the design.

How many memory chips has it been optimized for? Once that decision is made – the cost, space, reliability and performance characteristics are inevitable. My article – http://www.storagesearch.com/bigvsmall-ssd-arch.html may be too technical for you – but here’s an analogy.

If you look at the I/O of food in your local supermarket. The way it comes in from suppliers (from trucks) is different to the way it goes out (in cars).

Technically the supermarket could receive all its supplies in small car loads – but that would be inefficient.

Technically your house could receive all its supplies in big trucks (if the road permits) – but that would be inefficient too.

There are market flexibility advantages which come from designing small architecture SSDs . You can use the same design in a notebook or a server so you can access a bigger market.

But big architecture SSDs intrinsically can work with 30% to 40% less memory chips – and use a wider range of reliability / data healing tricks.

On the downside – big architecture designs can’t be used in as many markets as small ones – so their cost base may be higher.

The result is that the purchase cost advantages of one versus the other may cancel out – as seen in street prices of arrays.

Running cost – if you have a big system – is something which remains.

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When it comes to hard drives – RAID was better than what it replaced in the 1980s – but if you started again today with the internet connectivity and processors we have today – and started to design big arrays of disks from first principles then you wouldn’t see just the RAID systems you see today. That’s because RAID is small architecture too. It optimizes over maybe 5 to 10 disks. If you optimize reliability etc over 100 disks – then you get better efficiency. That’s why Google designed its own disk managment system. The cost savings at the million plus disk level are worthwhile.

This is exactly the same principle in SSDs. SandForce optimize around less than 10 flash chips – whereas Violin optimize around 100 plus.

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Technically you can wrap “big software” around either type of hardware architecture to simplify “big data management”. But the electricity cost isn’t fooled by the software.

Feel free to share my reply if you find it useful.

It was more interesting than what I was supposed to be working on.

Take care

Zsolt

From: John Doyle

Date: Thursday, March 08, 2012 19:43

To: Zsolt@STORAGEsearch.com

Subject: Good Stuff

Zsolt,

I just wanted to send you a note saying that your website is very informative! Thank you for putting it out. Also, let me know if you have conversations with bankers.

I’m a tech banker and storage is becoming a very hot sector. I’d like to get your thoughts on whether you believe in big data or is it big hype.

Hope all is well and thank you!

Best,

John

John H. Doyle II

Managing Director & Founder

Peachtree Capital Advisors, Inc.

1055 East Colorado Blvd., Suite 500

Pasadena, CA 91106

OFFICE 626.204.4047

MOBILE 626.394.2167

FAX 626.628.0411

Investment Bankers

Software, Digital Media & Cleantech

www.PeachtreeCapitalAdvisors.com

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Peachtree Discusses Cyber-Security M&A in 2012

Monday, February 13th, 2012 at 7:34 pm

Below is a link to an article that appeared a week ago in Software Magazine that discusses Cyber-Security M&A in 2012.

http://www.scmagazine.com/debate-ma-activity-in-the-cyber-security-arena-will-significantly-increase-in-2012/article/223542/

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2011 Greentech M&A Results

Monday, January 23rd, 2012 at 4:47 pm

The U.S. greentech sector saw 353 transactions completed in 2011 for a reported $13.9 billion—down 6% from the $14.7 billion posted in 2010. While greentech funding rose 4% to $10.6 billion, mergers and acquisitions slumped 29% to $3.3 billion. Some of the major developments (or lack thereof) included the rollout of electric vehicles from Chevrolet and Nissan, the shocking demise of thin-film solar manufacturer Solyndra, and another year of stalled progress in the area of U.S. energy policy. To learn more about how greentech M&A fared in 2011, make your way over to our 2011 Greentech M&A Review.

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GigaOM Article on Peachtree VC/PE Report

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011 at 11:50 am

Below is a link to GigaOM’s take on our last report. They have some interesting perspectives to add:

http://gigaom.com/cloud/vcs-dont-mistake-cloud-computing-for-the-cloud-opportunity/

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Survey: Insights on Technology Investing

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011 at 12:55 pm

Peachtree is proud to announce, in collaboration with Herrick, Feinstein LLP, the release of our Insights on Technology Investing venture capital and private equity survey report. We polled nearly 100 leading venture capital and private equity firms on current environment in and future outlook of technology investing. Here’s an excerpt from the report, which details our findings:

Despite the difficulties surrounding the current economic environment, Peachtree Capital Advisors’ 2011 Insights on Technology Investing survey finds that U.S. technology venture capital and private equity investors share a generally positive outlook on investment opportunities in the near-term future. Among survey respondents, 52% expect venture capital and private equity investments in technology to increase over the next twelve months, whereas only 10% predict a decline over this same period.

Investors who consider their sectors undervalued, including those in Enterprise Software and Healthcare IT, hold a slightly more positive view of the investing environment than their counterparts who consider their sectors overvalued, such as investors in Cloud Computing, Mobile, and Social Media & Collaboration.

The strongest consensus to emerge from the survey was the belief that Social Media & Collaboration is overvalued; 88% of respondents stated this opinion, with many additionally expressing the expectation that consolidation will occur in the space over the next three years. Many investors also feel that Cloud Computing is currently overvalued, but will nonetheless experience explosive growth over the next three years. Meanwhile, enterprise software and Healthcare IT elicited a greater variety of responses, although the general opinion trended toward Enterprise Software being undervalued and Healthcare IT seeing substantial near-term growth.

To request the full report, please email research@peachtreecapitaladvisors.com.

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Peachtree Has Opened A West Coast Office

Friday, September 9th, 2011 at 11:16 am

Peachtree will be opening a West Coast office Pasadena, CA on October 3rd, 2011. Actually, it will be a temporary office until I can find permanent office space. Most of the staff will remain on the East Coast, but I will be relocating to Pasadena, CA.

The move was primarily driven by a growing family and Mrs. Doyle’s desire to be closer to her family, but it will more than likely be a positive for Peachtree. We will now be able to service our enterprise software, cleantech and digital media client base on both coasts.

Until the office is opened, you can always reach me on my cellular at (310) 770-4235 or email: johnd@peachtreecapitaladvisors.com.

Update: Our new office is open!

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Meet Us at Solar Power International in Dallas, TX

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011 at 9:09 pm

Peachtree plans to attend Solar Power International in Dallas, TX from October 17th – 20th (www.solarpowerinternational.com). Please contact John Doyle at 212-570-1009 or email johnd@peachtreecapitaladvisors.com in order to schedule a meeting.

Peachtree is an M&A advisory firm focused on the renewable energy and cleantech sectors. Meet up with us to learn more about our merger and acquisition advisory services, such as the buying or selling process, capital raising from VCs and strategics, public market valuations in solar, M&A trends, transaction multiples, financing and overall growth trends in the industry. (If you are not planning to attend, you can definitely schedule a call to speak with us at any time.)

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Digital Media Mid-Year Report

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011 at 10:07 am

Today, Peachtree released the 2011 Mid-Year Digital Media Review. Total transaction volume in the first half of 2011 decreased by 12.9% from 1H10 to 491 transactions, underscoring the uncertainty in the U.S. economy. However, total reported transaction value increased by 125.9% to $20.3 billion, in large part due to Microsoft’s $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype, but also because of the continued rapid growth of the mobile and e-commerce sectors. Furthermore, a substantial increase in capital raise activity indicates that investors are cautiously optimistic and the digital media sector is continuing to grow despite the economic conditions.

The complete report is available here.

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Greentech Mid-Year: Numbers Belie Concerns

Monday, July 25th, 2011 at 10:42 pm

We just released our 2011 Greentech Mid-Year M&A Review, which examines how the U.S. greentech M&A environment has evolved since the beginning of the year. M&A activity climbed 8% to $8.8 billion in the first half, but a look beneath the surface offers additional insight:

Although first half numbers show stabilization, if not modest growth, in U.S. greentech M&A activity, further examination reveals a more complex outlook for the sector. The paralysis and cyclical shifts that have plagued U.S. energy policy have dampened investor sentiment while feared cuts in cleantech subsidies threaten to slow growth and innovation. Pessimism was reflected in the venture capital community, where capital raises dropped 12% from the same period last year. This cynicism was also reflected in the stock market, where the PowerShares Clean Energy ETF fell 13.4% in a first half that saw the broader S&P 500 rise 5.0%.

To continue reading, here is the complete report.

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Just Released: Mid-Year Technology M&A Report

Friday, July 8th, 2011 at 3:22 pm

Earlier this week, Peachtree released its 2011 Mid-Year Technology M&A Review, which provides insight into the current M&A environment in the technology sector.

Despite a sluggish economy, technology M&A rode its momentum from late 2010 to enjoy a solid first half in 2011. Although valuations in the technology sector did not rise substantially following steady growth in 2010, they remained relatively constant throughout the first half of the year, providing necessary stability and support for the M&A marketplace. Large-cap companies, having accumulated a buildup of cash during the recession, emerged as major spenders, pursuing acquisition growth strategies rather than investing in organic growth. To read the complete report, click here.

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