The log file analysis marketplace is red hot – but perhaps not for the reasons you might think. A battle between established player Splunk Inc. and relative newcomer Rocana has reached the dueling lawyers stage. Not only that, but Rocana has made the interaction public.
This article will not weigh in on the he-said, she-said matters of fact in this case. Perhaps Rocana’s claims about Splunk’s products were accurate, perhaps not – and the same can be said for Splunk’s claims about Rocana’s product.
In the final analysis, customers must make that call. Vendors always have high opinions of their own products, and typically have less than favorable opinions of competitors. Such discord is typical of any competitive marketplace.
Instead, I’d like to analyze the broader story – how Splunk and Rocana are choosing to compete, both for customers and market share. I must also comment on my role in this exchange, as Splunk has chosen to question my personal ethics.
The Battle So Far
The opening salvo of this tête-à-tête appeared in a guest blog post on the Rocana web site, Rocana vs. Splunk: IT Operations Showdown. In this post, veteran tech journalist David Spark interviewed several Rocana execs as well as quoting industry analysts Curt Monash from Monash Research as well as myself.
Rocana’s opinions of Splunk were less than favorable, and the post concluded that “while some solutions, such as Splunk, were incredibly valuable when introduced, their now dated architecture simply can’t handle the changing needs of IT and business.”
Splunk responded by ordering its attorneys to send Rocana a cease and desist letter. Splunk’s letter took the Spark blog post to task, refuting each of its claims individually, and furthermore, calls into question the integrity of Spark, Monash, and myself.
Read the entire article at http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbloomberg/2015/11/25/rocana-vs-splunk-it-operations-management-battle-of-words/.
Intellyx advises companies on their digital transformation initiatives and helps vendors communicate their agility stories. As of the time of writing, Rocana is an Intellyx customer. None of the other organizations mentioned are Intellyx customers. Image credit: Randy Heinitz.
