conSOLIDation

Well, the solid state storage world just got smaller by one player: NetApp has gobbled SolidFire. Frequent reader may recall a few missives here about SF, mostly passing on info from their constant stream of email notices. SF claims great superiority, but as I type, NetApp share had fallen to a 52 week low, but now regained about a Buck of the loss.

This leaves Violin Memory and Pure Storage among the contracting field of public flash companies. Not for long, I expect. Violin (~$90 million market cap) has been the butt of many BK jokes. Pure (~$3 billion, ditto) is still, may be, in IPO honeymoom phase.