Moshe Yanai
Moshe Yanai | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1949 Israel |
| Occupation(s) | Electrical engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, aviator, investor, philanthropist, businessman |
| Known for | Development of EMC Symmetrix, founder and CEO of Infinidat |
| Notable work | EMC Symmetrix, IBM XIV Storage System |
Moshe Yanai (; born 1949) is an Israeli electrical engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, aviator, investor, philanthropist, and businessman. He spearheaded the creation of the EMC Symmetrix, EMC Corporation's premier product during the 1990s, which was instrumental in maintaining stability for financial institutions such as the New York Stock Exchange and numerous banks following the September 11 attacks.
Biography
Born in Israel in 1949, Moshe Yanai completed his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology in 1975.
Elbit-Nixdorf project
Yanai’s early professional experience involved developing IBM-compatible mainframe storage systems that utilized minicomputer disks while working with Elbit Systems in collaboration with Nixdorf Computer. Subsequently, he enhanced advanced storage technologies for Nixdorf within the United States market.
EMC Corporation
In 1987, Yanai joined EMC Corporation, where he oversaw the design and development of the Symmetrix hardware and software from its inception until shortly before his departure in 2001. Initially leading a small group of former Israeli colleagues, his team expanded to encompass thousands under his vice presidential leadership. During this timeframe, EMC evolved from a modest minicomputer memory board supplier valued at several million dollars into a corporation worth hundreds of billions. Prior to leaving, Yanai was honored with the title of EMC Fellow.
Yanai was the driving force behind the development of EMC’s flagship scalable network storage solution in the 1990s—the EMC Symmetrix. The combination of its hardware and SRDF (Symmetrix Remote Data Facility) software secured EMC’s position as a dominant player within the storage industry. The scalability inherent to Symmetrix laid crucial groundwork for contemporary cloud storage systems, which are vital to online services and big data applications. According to a 2001 ESG report, Yanai was recognized as "the individual most responsible for designing the single most successful product in subsystem history (Symmetrix)."
Organizations dependent on high-performance computing and large-scale data management, including banking institutions, considered Symmetrix indispensable. Its remote replication capability notably averted financial interruptions at the New York Stock Exchange and various banks following the events of September 11 attacks. Barron's referred to SRDF as “the true hero of 9/11,” highlighting that EMC served 25 clients located in the World Trade Center vicinity, including major banks and the exchange itself.
Diligent Technologies and XIV
Yanai co-established Diligent Technologies in Israel as an R&D hub affiliated with EMC. Additionally, he invested in and led XIV, an Israeli storage startup that IBM acquired in January 2008 for approximately $300 million after an initial investment near $3 million. Shortly thereafter, IBM also purchased Diligent Technologies in April 2008. Yanai maintained leadership of XIV and was named an IBM Fellow while the IBM XIV Storage System became an official IBM product line. He departed from IBM in 2010.
INFINIDAT
In 2011, Yanai launched Infinidat, a company specializing in computer data storage solutions, assuming the role of CEO. By April 2015, Infinidat had attracted a $150 million funding round led by TPG Capital, which valued the company above $1 billion and established it among the most valuable private enterprises. Yanai has also held board positions across multiple organizations.
Patents
Yanai is listed as either the sole inventor or a co-inventor on approximately 40 United States patents related to electronic data storage technologies. Among the significant patents assigned to EMC are:
- US 5,390,313 (issued February 14, 1995) – "Data storage featuring data mirroring and accelerated access time retrieval."
- US 5,544,347 (issued August 6, 1996) – "Remote data mirroring with controlled data storage and preservation of corresponding data indices."
Awards and recognition
- Awarded the title of EMC Fellow in 2001
- Named an IBM Fellow in 2008
- Recipient of the IEEE Reynold B. Johnson Information Storage Systems Award in 2010, honoring his leadership in developing clustered global cache storage systems and business continuity strategies that have influenced enterprise storage solutions
- Designated Distinguished Fellow by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at Technion - Israel Institute of Technology in 2011
- Conferred an Honorary Doctorate by Technion - Israel Institute of Technology in 2012