Most of the emails and phone calls I get from vendors and PR people feature overblown phrases like "industry-leading," and are peppered with the typical tech litany of something being the first, fastest, biggest (or smallest) and so on. These exaggerated claims can sometimes overshadow the fact that there are plenty of smart people in the storage game.

I was reminded of that last week when I met with two insightful industry experts. The meetings were eye-opening--maybe not epiphany-like experiences, but they made me think about some things a little differently.