Is Cisco The Borg?

So looking through some of the official Cisco bumf on their recent Unified Computing System announcement I noticed the following recurring message "Unify, Simplify, Amplify".  Almost wherever I turned, there was the message again "Unify, Simplify, Amplify".

The Borg

Watching one of the Cisco presentations I picked out the following snippets (I quote)

"...away from the manual assembly of individual parts, to a single scalable system.."

"single management domain" 

"....join the movement...... to one integrated system"

Sound like the Borg Hive, Collective or Unicomplex to anyone else?

Is "Unify, Simplify, Amplify" == ""Lower you shields and prepare to be assimilated.  Resistance is futile" ?

Resistance probably is Futile

While I have my own reservations about some of this stuff including the convergence to Ethernet....... I only use the Borg analysis as a representation of what appears to be industry juggernaut against which resistance is futile.  I don't actually think Cisco or even 10 GigE are inherently evil.

I try to maintain a balanced view of what is happening.  I do see many benefits but haven't quite shaken all of my apprehensions. 

I feel like we, the storage industry, have just been strapped into a roller-coaster and are waiting for the ride to start.  We're strapped in and the claxon has sounded so there is no getting out now.  Keeping with the rollercoaster analogy, I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach and cant quite decide if its excitement or fear.  Probably a bit of both.

Has anyone seen what the new Cisco kit actually looks like......................

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Surprised

Welcome to the brave new world!

Oh and if The Borg Cisco really want to take on HP and IBM, they are probably going to be looking to assimilate acquire a storage vendor once things calm down a little.  Now that really would be a case of "Lower you shields and prepare to be assimilated.  Resistance is futile!"  She has her eye on you already, is closing in fast and always gets what she wants!

Oh and she doesn't look like this.......

She looks like this.......

 Mmmwwahahahahaha!