When looking for valuable insight into the technology industry, generally there are some big firms that can offer it up at high cost. Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), a technology research and analysis consulting organization, provides research for smaller and specialized firms with an extensive library of market research and a network of expert analysts making it easier for them to develop strategies for their business.

Founder and Senior Analyst of ESG Steve Duplessie joined Dave Vellante (@dvellante) and Stu Miniman (@stu) on theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, during the Riverbed Disrupt event, held in New York City, to provide his perspective on the industry.

Take on the EMC/Dell merger

Recently, Duplessie wrote a blog about the EMC/Dell merger, and Vellante asked him to talk about the positive response it was receiving. As a past employee of EMC, Duplessie talked about when in 2000 Joe Tucci, former chairman of the board of directors, president and chief executive officer of EMC, joined the company. “I knew … without knowing the man, that this guy was a little bit different,” he said.

Duplessie continued by saying that Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Technologies, is a good fit for EMC because there are many synergies and, culturally, the companies are similar.

Private equity game plan

Recently, many companies have gone back to being private companies. While scrolling through the most recent list, Vellante questioned if this is the way things are going in the industry.

“Fundamentally, having that microscope and having that spotlight on you for 90-days … is the wrong way to do business,” explained Duplessie. He feels the privatization aspect is going to keep going because the companies doing it are good companies that will eventually go back to profitable IPOs because they were able to do the right thing to grow the business.

Market share shifting

When asked if enterprise is open to change, Duplessie sees two reasons why they are not. First, he responded that humans are lazy and the devil they know is better than the one they don’t. Secondly, he blames years of habit and doing things the same way as another barrier to change.

Eventually, he knows that things will change because a change will be forced and the enterprise will need to react to the market.

Security is the new storage

Duplessie is fascinated with security, and he called it the “storage of 25 years ago.” He sees many players in the market with different approaches, yet there are no clear winners in the space.

He said it is intriguing and fascinating and looks forward to picking a winner in the security space.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of Riverbed Disrupt.

Photo by SiliconANGLE