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14 Storage and Networking Pundits to Follow on Twitter

Esther Schindler

Data storage, data centers, and networking are changing enterprise architecture as we know it. The best way to stay current is to connect with technologists who know what they’re talking about.

As Twitter has become more ubiquitous, it’s become a little more difficult to discover which people really are worth your time. So it’s useful to consult a list of people whose knowledge, erudition, kick-ass attitude, and/or 140-character information density can help you do your job better – or at least with a smile on your face.

If you care about computer storage, cloud computing, and networking in general, I recommend you start to add to your Following list with two sets of Twitter accounts:

  • The pundits: Every tech community has its influencers: the names everyone seems to know, the analysts people trust, and the publications that everyone relies on for relevant news.
  • The pragmatists: While it’s useful to get the news and cogent analysis with a 30,000-foot view of the landscape, most of the time we want advice, commentary – and jokes! – from the people who face the same problems we do, every day.

For reasons of time and space (that is, mine), I’m splitting these into two posts. Here’s the short list of experts to add to your Twitter account. In a later post, I’ll share my extensive list of people with hands-on knowledge, how-to advice, and somewhat more snark.

Chris_Mellor

@Chris_Mellor writes regularly for The Register (when he isn’t rock climbing). His Twitter feed largely points to tech news articles, many of them his own, without a lot of extra fluff.

Storage Swiss

@storageswiss is an analyst firm focused on the storage, cloud, and virtualization marketplaces. How much more relevant could it get? Its Twitter feed regularly links to useful, thought-provoking analysis, and sometimes news items.

Robin Harris

@storagemojo is an independent analyst, blogger, and consultant who pays attention to emerging technologies, products, and markets. (You might enjoy his article here on the Druva blog, The Next Decade in Storage.) On Twitter, he sticks to storage topics, rather than indulge in conversation on other worthy subjects, such as how beautiful it is in Sedona.

Enterprise Storage

@StorageNews may not be especially personable – it’s the sort of publication Twitter account that stands in for an RSS feed – but it certainly publishes timely articles for enterprise storage professionals, including product reviews and tech analysis.

Enrico Signoretti

@esignoretti is an independent IT analyst and blogger at Juku.it who often posts about virtualization as well as storage. I like the personality he injects, offering opinions on tech news events and tweets about skiing with his kids.

Fierce Enterprise Communications

You’re probably aware of several of the “Fierce” publications. For sysadmins, storage professionals, and network admins, probably the most relevant is @FierceEntComm, which touches on anything to do with enterprise infrastructure: cloud computing, networks, data centers, and so on.

Jason Buffington

@jbuff works at global advisory firm ESG Global, primarily covering backup processes and technologies; he also has an active blog.

Ashish Nadkarni

@ashish_nadkarni works at IDC doing market intelligence on storage, cloud computing, and big data. Most of the time his tweets are focused on those topics, but his techie tangents are even more entertaining.

InfoStor

@InfoStorOnline shares articles from its web publication, which promises “data storage news, reviews, and resources for IT storage professionals.” This Twitter feed rarely will make you say, “Wow,” but you’ll feel up-to-date with current events.

Howard Marks

@DeepStorageNet says he’s been “beating storage tech into submission since 1987,” and I can personally assert its truth. Howard Marks and I have known each other (online, alas, not yet in person) since that era, and I’ve always found his observations to be worthy of attention. He also “engages with the audience,” by which I mean he actually holds a conversation with followers… or at least with me.

Simon Wardley

I’ve admired Simon Wardley since his OSCON presentation defining cloud computing, which made me laugh out loud several times (and not just at the ducks). I’ve been following @swardley ever since then because he’s authoritative, wise, thoughtful – and often very funny. If he and I are ever collocated again, I’m going to buy him a beer.

Greg Schulz

@storageio is an independent IT advisory analyst and consultant on cloud, virtual data infrastructure, and VMware. Especially VMware.

Packet Pushers

@packetpushers has a regular data networking industry podcast, in which “real-life engineers and top guests discuss route, switch, security, wireless, DC + more.” This is not the most exciting or loquacious of Twitter accounts. It make just a few posts per day, and it’s essentially an RSS feed of recent podcasts and blog posts. But network admins are likely to find the information useful.

Druva’s own account

Well duh. Of course you want to follow @druvainc! How could you not?!

Whew. That’s a lot of high level expertise, and what the marketing folks like to call “thought leaders.” (I tend to call them, “The people who make the maps rather than follow them.”) In my follow-on post I’ll suggest more storage and networking divas, with a more practical, get-your-hands dirty slant. But feel free to add your own suggestions in the meantime!

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