Establishing Network Appliance (A)

In 1991, Michael Malcolm had an idea for a start up company. He contacted Dave Hitz and James Lau, two respected engineers with whom he had worked at Auspex. Malcolm’s idea was a simple, special-purpose file server that would perform the same function as the Auspex file servers yet be radically simpler, faster, and more reliable. Hitz and Lau immediately recognized that, if successful, the product had enormous potential. The case follows the three founders, from establishing the company, Network Appliance, through the challenges faced around funding, growth, product development, and distribution.