The giants struggle within the data storage field is not yet finished, once that EMC acquired Isilon for $2.25 billion yesterday.  Moreover, the shrinking chain, which consists of the medium and small companies within the cloud industry, is becoming a warning for the still-running competitors: Dell, HP and EMC.

This month’s transaction by EMC, buying Isilon’s shares at $33.85 each, was not irrational, but wisely reasoned on EMC policy of incorporating smaller companies in the data storage sector, in order to enhance their revenues and to gain more market share, according to a recent analysis on The New York Times.

The list of the small companies, which have vanished in the previous year-and-a-half, is full of those being purchased by the big players. It is reasonable for such a dynamic behavior: 3Par, data Domain,  ONStor, Netezze or BusTech (also acquired last week by EMC) – have all offered their assets, generating greater dominance for the remaining players.

Solving this issue, it seems that EMC’s strategy is getting on the right path.  But beyond this confident outlook, the data storage companies are aware of the cloud computing networking that gains the interest of the consumers.  Joe Tucci, the EMC’s chief executive acknowledges that “the unmistakable waves of cloud computing and ‘big data’ are upon us.”

EMC’s acquisitions of smaller companies is a common practice, but Isilon was a historical step, because it will help EMC to develop their need for find scale-out network attached storage solutions.

Analyzed from a financial and strategy perspective, EMC’s acquisition of Isilon is likely to be a message for Dell too, which was also considering talks with Isilon. Dell is seen in a delicate position, as it is forced to increase its margin, which was reported to be diminished by the efficiency of laptop and desktop business.