The following articles show Compaq has room for improvement in some areas, but also shows some good results in others.
I found some interesting comments in the various articles.
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CRN Champions: Storage -- HP Support Tops In
Automated Tape Backup
CMP Media Inc. - Friday, June 16, 2000
Jun. 16, 2000 (Computer Reseller News - CMP via COMTEX) -- A year after Hewlett-Packard Co. introduced
its SureStore family of automated tape libraries, solution providers were giving the vendor high marks for its
technology and partner programs.
HP, Palo Alto, Calif., earned the CRN Champions crown in the tape automation category, which has become
a growth area as the Web-driven need for storage-and devices that can handle that storage-continues to
escalate.
While HP says it is readying higher-capacity, enterprise-class libraries for release this summer, the SureStore
product, which currently holds up to 60 cartridges, already appeals to many solution providers.
The survey asked 333 solution providers to rate their satisfaction with automated tape library vendors in eight
areas. The overall rating was based on an average of the scores.
Solution providers awarded HP a partner satisfaction rating of 5.4 on a scale of 1 to 7. Seagate Technology
Inc., Scotts Valley, Calif., earned a second-place 5.2, and Compaq Computer Corp., Houston, came in third at
5.1.
HP performed well across all of the areas, delivering both solid technology and solid support for its partners.
The vendor came out on top in six of the areas while dropping to the No. 2 position in two others.
For solution providers, product quality and reliability is often the first criteria for considering a vendor. Here HP
received a 6.0, a notch ahead of Seagate's 5.9. But where HP widened its lead over Seagate was in another
important product area-compatibility and scalability-where its 6.0 rating was two-tenths of a point ahead of
Seagate's 5.8.
"Customers want to protect their investments, so scalability is a real big story for them and an opportunity for
our partners to upsell," said Sherry Condry-Evans, product manager of midrange libraries for HP.
Some integrators said they were surprised that vendors with higher-capacity products did not do as well as HP
in price/performance. "Pricewise, ADIC and Qualstar are superior in value to the customer," said Dan Carson,
vice president of marketing for Open Systems Solutions Inc., Yardsley, Pa.
Solution providers gave HP the best marks in technical support (5.5), marketing support (5.4) and sales
partnering (5.0). Compaq came in second place in all three areas with scores of 5.3, 5.2 and 4.8, respectively.
But Compaq took the lead away from HP in one other partnership area, training and certification, where its 5.1
rating bested HP's 5.0.
"HP's staff comes to a conclusion pretty fast over whether a unit needs to be replaced or they can walk us
through a software or configuration problem over the phone," said Mike Hornong, president of Elazar
Computers, Waltham, Mass.
Brian Bustamante, sales director at Comteq Computer Co., Santa Clara, Calif., agreed: "Customers get antsy
when their backup is down, and HP's warranty policies are outstanding," he said.
Bustamante said he has found that, with HP, even 12 months into a warranty he can get a replacement unit
overnight. Hornong also said HP can often deliver a warranty replacement unit to his door the next business
day.
Yet Condry-Evans said the company requires two to three weeks, on average, to deliver replacement units,
although it is working toward a quicker turnaround.
2000 Champion
Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard Co.
Popular Product: SureStore family
Key Strengths: Marketing; compatibility and scalability
Partner Comment: "Customers get antsy when their backup is down, and HP's warranty policies are outstanding." - Brian Bustamante,
Comteq Computer |
