Whiptail
Whiptail was a U.S. enterprise storage company that developed solid-state storage systems using NAND flash memory and was acquired by Cisco in 2013.
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Overview
Whiptail Technologies was a privately held enterprise-storage company founded in 2009 in the United States. The company focused on replacing conventional hard-disk-based storage architectures with systems built from solid-state drive components and NAND flash memory. Its products were designed for large-scale enterprise environments where high input/output performance, low latency, scalability, availability, and integration with virtualization platforms were important requirements. The business was founded by Edward T. Rebholz and James Candelaria. Rebholz initially served as chief executive, while Candelaria became chief technology officer. Whiptail established its headquarters in Whippany, New Jersey, and maintained additional offices in San Jose, California, and London. Its early investors included Ignition Partners, RRE Ventures, and Spring Mountain Capital. The company later attracted strategic participation from SanDisk Ventures, reflecting the growing interest of flash-memory manufacturers in enterprise solid-state storage. Whiptail's product development centered on flash-based storage arrays and the software needed to manage them. It released the XLR8r in 2009, followed by the ACCELA all-flash storage array and the INVICTA platform in 2012. INVICTA was positioned as a modular, scalable, highly available, multiprotocol system. The company subsequently introduced INVICTA INFINITY, which it claimed could exceed four million input/output operations per second and deliver data rates of up to 40 GB per second. Whiptail also developed RACERUNNER software, including capabilities for replicating information to storage targets made by other vendors. Partnerships were central to Whiptail's route to market. During 2012, the company worked with Cisco, Citrix, SanDisk, Micron, and VMware. Its systems were associated with Cisco's Virtualization Experience Infrastructure and Unified Computing System initiatives. ACCELA and INVICTA received Citrix Ready recognition, and both arrays achieved VMware Ready status, helping establish compatibility with enterprise virtualization environments. Whiptail changed leadership as it expanded. Dan Crain, formerly chief technology officer of Brocade Communications Systems, became chief executive in January 2011. Cristóbal Conde, previously chief executive of SunGard, became chairman of the board in March 2013. The company announced a funding round of more than $10 million in January 2012 and a $31 million round in December of that year, led by Ignition Partners with SanDisk Ventures and existing investors participating. Cisco announced its intention to acquire Whiptail in September 2013 and completed the acquisition on October 29, 2013, for approximately $415 million. Cisco said Whiptail's technology would be incorporated into its Unified Computing System fabric offerings at the hardware and manageability levels. The independent Whiptail brand did not remain a continuing standalone product business. In July 2015, Cisco announced the end of life of Whiptail products, including the INVICTA Appliance and Scaling System, effectively ending their commercial lifecycle under the Whiptail name.
History
Whiptail Technologies was established in 2009 by Edward T. Rebholz and James Candelaria to develop enterprise storage systems based on NAND flash memory and solid-state drive components. Its central proposition was that flash storage could provide a faster and more responsive alternative to hard-disk-based systems for demanding data-center workloads. The company took its name from the whiptail racerunner, a fast lizard associated with the southwestern United States. The company was headquartered in Whippany, New Jersey, with offices in San Jose and London. Rebholz served as chief executive during the company's early period, while Candelaria served as chief technology officer. Whiptail received early backing from Ignition Partners, RRE Ventures, and Spring Mountain Capital. It reported a Series B financing of more than $10 million in January 2012 and announced a $31 million financing round in December 2012. Ignition Partners led the later round, joined by SanDisk Ventures as a strategic investor and by existing financial backers. Whiptail introduced the XLR8r in 2009. In May 2012 it announced the ACCELA all-flash array and the INVICTA storage platform. INVICTA was built around modularity, scaling, high availability, and support for multiple storage protocols. Later in 2012, Whiptail announced INVICTA INFINITY and an upgrade to RACERUNNER software. The company stated that INVICTA INFINITY could exceed four million IOPS and reach data rates of 40 GB per second. RACERUNNER 4.1 included replication to a storage array from another vendor, broadening the system's interoperability. Whiptail pursued partnerships with infrastructure and virtualization companies. Its technology was used in connection with Cisco VXI and UCS initiatives, and its ACCELA and INVICTA arrays received Citrix Ready recognition. The products also achieved VMware Ready status. These certifications and partnerships positioned Whiptail as an enterprise infrastructure supplier rather than a consumer storage brand. Leadership changed as the company matured. Dan Crain, a former Brocade Communications Systems chief technology officer, became chief executive on January 31, 2011. On March 12, 2013, Cristóbal Conde, formerly chief executive of SunGard, was appointed chairman of the board. The company remained privately held and did not have a public stock listing. Cisco announced its planned acquisition of Whiptail on September 10, 2013. The transaction was valued at approximately $415 million and was completed on October 29, 2013. Cisco intended to use Whiptail's technology in its Unified Computing System fabric offerings, including hardware and manageability capabilities. After the acquisition, Whiptail ceased operating as an independent company and its products were ultimately retired. In July 2015, Cisco announced the end of life of the INVICTA Appliance and Scaling System products. The Whiptail brand is therefore best understood as a discontinued enterprise-storage brand whose technology and business were absorbed into Cisco.
- 2015
Whiptail products reach end of life
[1]Cisco announced the retirement of the INVICTA Appliance and Scaling System product lines.
- 2013
Cristóbal Conde becomes chairman
[1]Former SunGard chief executive Cristóbal Conde was named chairman of Whiptail's board.
- 2013
Cisco acquires Whiptail
[1]Cisco completed its approximately $415 million acquisition of Whiptail on October 29, 2013.
- 2012
ACCELA and INVICTA announced
[1]Whiptail announced the ACCELA all-flash array and the modular INVICTA storage platform.
- 2012
Strategic financing and ecosystem partnerships expand
[1]Whiptail announced a $31 million financing round and expanded relationships involving Cisco, Citrix, SanDisk, Micron, and VMware.
- 2012
INVICTA INFINITY announced
[1]Whiptail announced INVICTA INFINITY and RACERUNNER 4.1, emphasizing high throughput, high IOPS, and cross-vendor replication.
- 2011
Dan Crain becomes CEO
[1]Former Brocade Communications Systems CTO Dan Crain became Whiptail's chief executive.
- 2009
Whiptail is founded
[1]Edward T. Rebholz and James Candelaria founded Whiptail Technologies to develop flash-based enterprise storage systems.
- 2009
XLR8r released
[1]Whiptail released the XLR8r, its first cited solid-state storage offering.
Products and positioning
Enterprise flash-storage specialist focused on high-performance, scalable, highly available storage systems for virtualization, data-center, and large-scale computing environments.
Solid-state storage system · 2009
XLR8r
XLR8r was Whiptail's earliest cited product, released in 2009. It represented the company's initial effort to commercialize enterprise storage built from solid-state components rather than conventional hard drives.
All-flash storage array · 2012
ACCELA
ACCELA was an all-flash storage array announced in 2012. It was aimed at enterprise workloads requiring low-latency access and was later recognized through the Citrix Ready and VMware Ready programs for use with virtualization environments.
Enterprise storage array · 2012
INVICTA
INVICTA was Whiptail's modular enterprise storage platform. The company emphasized scalable architecture, high availability, and multiprotocol support, making it suitable for data-center and virtualized infrastructure deployments.
High-performance storage array · 2012
INVICTA INFINITY
INVICTA INFINITY was a later INVICTA-family system announced in November 2012. Whiptail promoted it for very high-performance workloads and stated that it could exceed four million IOPS and provide data rates of up to 40 GB per second.
Storage management and replication software · 2012
RACERUNNER
RACERUNNER was Whiptail's storage software layer. Version 4.1 added the ability to replicate data to a target array made by another vendor, supporting interoperability beyond Whiptail's own storage hardware.
Brand decisions
2015
Retirement of Whiptail product linesStrategyBackground
Following Cisco's acquisition of Whiptail, the independent product brand was incorporated into Cisco's broader infrastructure strategy.
Action taken
Cisco announced end-of-life plans for the INVICTA Appliance and Scaling System products.
Aftermath
The principal Whiptail-branded storage products were discontinued, ending the brand's standalone commercial lifecycle.
2013
Cisco acquisitionM&ABackground
Whiptail had developed flash-based storage systems that complemented Cisco's data-center, virtualization, and Unified Computing System activities.
Action taken
Cisco announced the planned acquisition in September 2013 and completed it on October 29, 2013, for approximately $415 million.
Aftermath
Whiptail's technology was intended for integration into Cisco UCS fabric offerings. Whiptail no longer operated as an independent company, and its branded products were later retired.
Acquisition value. Approximately US$415 million (2013)
Sources1 sources
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