3PAR (symb: PAR - ipo mid Nov)

[IIC]

Just bought a Dell Notebook 1520 that came with the minimum of 3 GB, 1 year DataSafe online storage included in the price. Other storage options available for $. It's a great service IMHO. River

Congrats on the new computer...I've have a Dell Inspiron 700m...almost 4 years and never had a problem...although I only use it when I travel...It is smaller and they don't make them anymore...12.1" monitor and only 4.2 lbs. so it is nice for travel.

FYI...Not that I would trust this with anything sensitive...But I use Box.net for offline storage... 1GB free and you can share it on the net...5GB is $79.95 yr...I just use the free version

[riverbabe]

Data Storage

Just bought a Dell Notebook 1520 that came with the minimum of 3 GB, 1 year DataSafe online storage included in the price. Other storage options available for $. It's a great service IMHO. River

[skiracer]

I wouldn't say 3PAR is better than EMC, HP, IBM, Hitachi, etc. They are a player with a good product in a growing market. Of course it is just my gut that told me to buy this one as I think I can make some $ on this.

Not out to shoot you down but that "gut feelings" stuff is like putting your money on the red or black or some number on a roulette wheel. You might as well be gambling. The odds would probably be more in your favor. They might have a good idea regarding customers buying only the space they need at the time but the sector is populated with some very heavy hitters already and when they see a good idea they usually copy it and it becomes just another idea that everyone has. Here's some food for thought:

The folks at 3Par (NYSE: PAR) should thank Dell (Nasdaq: DELL), which recently agreed to purchase rival storage provider EqualLogic for a cool $1.4 billion. So at last week's IPO of 3Par, investors had no qualms about buying shares, which increased 13% last week. Overall, the stock is up 9% since its IPO, and now sports a market cap of about $915 million.
3Par is a pioneer of so-called utility storage technology, which provides storage on an as-needed basis. For example, if an application is undergoing lots of usage, then 3Par will allocate the necessary amount of storage to handle things. The benefits include lower administrative costs, improved storage utilization, and lower cooling requirements.
Over the past five years, 3Par has collared more than 200 customers, including Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS), AT&T (NYSE: T), and the U.S. Census Bureau. There is some customer concentration, however, with MySpace.com representing 15% of revenue.
According to research from IDC, 3Par's market opportunity is $8.5 billion. However, there is certainly lots of competition, from such firms as EMC (NYSE: EMC), Hitachi Data Systems, and IBM (NYSE: IBM). And Dell's recent acquisition is likely to put pressure on 3Par.
Then again, all this activity may make 3Par a good buyout candidate, right? The company has a strong product portfolio and has had a solid growth ramp. For the first half of this year, revenue spiked 51% to $51.7 million.
But Foolish investors still need to be careful. After all, take a look at the recent IPO of storage operator Compellent (NYSE: CML). Since its debut in late September, the stock is off more than 40% from its high. In other words, if you're taking a look at 3Par, there could still be some bogies.

[IIC]

I'll admit...I don't know much about this outfit...But it seems to me that the higher their revenues the more they lose.

BTW...Welcome...If you want to watch for IPO's you can use this site:

http://ipohome.com

Best, Doug(IIC)

[chucko]

I wouldn't say 3PAR is better than EMC, HP, IBM, Hitachi, etc. They are a player with a good product in a growing market. Of course it is just my gut that told me to buy this one as I think I can make some $ on this.

[mrmarket]

Chuck...no doubt demand for storage will increase significantly as everything goes paperless...

however...

what makes 3Par better than EMC?

[skiracer]

I have inside info that Chucko knows what he's talking about in the Information System's world.

Does that make him a stock picker of any stature or reliance?
Here's one that is involved in IT technology encrypting email. Not sure what that means but a well researched and thought kind of bet. ZIXI - long. I would be amazed if anyone here gives it a second thought. More than tripled since I last mentioned it here.

[mrmarket]

I have inside info that Chucko knows what he's talking about in the Information System's world.

[chucko]

Hello All - My first post...
Thought I would share this.

3PAR = data storage

fwiw - I've been waiting for this IPO for 1 1/2 years. I remembered reading the ipo date was early Dec. Somehow I missed the Nov 16th date.... I just made a purchase today... My company almost purchased their product because we thought it was excellent but we decided on HP product because we are an HP shop and our rep gave us a deal too good to be true.... I was also waiting for the Equallogic IPO because they too have an incredible product but they ended up being purchased by Dell.
As for 3PAR I think they have much potential and may in fact end up being purchased by a larger IT company.

Would appreciate any thoughts on 3PAR.... I am no market expert -- I occasionally buy what feels right to me.

Good article that I came across today.....

http://www.fool.com/investing/value/2007/11/19/3par-shoots-a-birdie.aspx