CRN Champions: New Market -- Network-Attached
Storage Crown Goes To HP
CMP Media Inc. - Friday, June 16, 2000
Jun. 16, 2000 (Computer Reseller News - CMP via COMTEX) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. proved itself once again
to be a strong partner in the storage arena by taking the CRN Champions crown for network-attached
storage.
Solution providers gave HP, Palo Alto, Calif., an overall 5.3 satisfaction rating in this new product category,
which has been picking up steam over the past year.
Seagate Technologies Inc., Scotts Valley, Calif., a relatively new entrant in the market, came in second at
5.2, and Compaq Computer Corp., Houston, was third at 5.0.
The CRN Champions survey polled 301 solution providers, asking them to rate their satisfaction with vendors
in eight areas, on a scale of 1 to 7. The champion had the highest average score.
HP's partner support programs gave it the edge. HP got the top rating in marketing support, training and
certification and technical support.
"HP has been the easiest vendor to work with over time," said Tom Thibault, owner of Thibault Associates Inc.,
Pleasant Hill, Calif. "It has been the most consistently channel-friendly."
But solution providers also liked HP's hardware. HP won the product quality and reliability area and tied for first
with Seagate in compatibility and scalability.
Three areas where HP slipped behind rivals were in price/performance, profitability and profit margins and
sales partnering.
The network-attached storage (NAS) market is still young, and the survey reflected that in the large number of
different vendors solution providers named during the open-ended phase of the poll. Only vendors named by at
least 10 percent of the sample were included in the ratings. Seagate made the cut even though it only entered
the NAS market earlier this year, while Compaq technically has yet to ship an NAS product. However,
Compaq is very much a player in this market because its general purpose file servers are widely used to add
storage to the network, said Mark Lewis, Compaq's vice president of enterprise storage software.
While file servers may still be the most common means of providing storage, solution providers see a shift
toward specialized network-attached storage devices. "People are more willing to put storage external to the
server than ever before," said Derek Cluff, senior account representative at Lewan & Associates, Denver.
Solution providers gave HP a strong 6.0 for quality and reliability, a sentiment shared by Chris Everett,
technical pre-sales manager for Logical, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., an integrator in the Unix and NT space. "HP
has very, very high quality and has very, very high reliability," Everett said. "I don't think we've ever had one
come back in one-and-a-half years."
That sentiment was seconded by Kim Dunmore, quality assurance team leader for Treev Inc., Herndon, Va., a
data-storage software developer and integrator. The company only supports and sells HP's NAS products.
"We don't feel the need to do anyone else," she said.
Seagate, which ranked second in quality and reliability with a 5.9, overtook HP in the next two
areas-price/performance, 5.5 to 5.4, and profitability and profit margins, where it walloped HP, 5.2 to 4.8.
One reason solution providers may rate HP's NAS boxes low in profitability is that they potentially cut into
service revenue. Since they are designed as plug-and-play devices, installation is relatively simple. "End-user
installation is easy, takes about 10 minutes, according to HP," Cluff said. "But customers still prefer our help,
especially in enterprise-class situations."
As for price/performance, Thibault said HP's NAS devices are priced well when compared to file servers with
attached storage. The price difference should motivate solution providers to seriously consider them,
particularly for remote offices, he said.
In the first partner support area-marketing support-solution providers also had good words for HP's
lead-generation and market development funds programs. The survey bore that out. HP's 5.2 rating edged out
runners-up Seagate and Compaq, which tied at 5.1.
In the training and certification area, HP, at 4.9, found its closest competitor to be Compaq, at 4.8. However,
solution providers said they required little in the way of training because NAS boxes plug into a LAN much like
any network hardware device. Moreover, HP does not have a specific certification program for NAS, although it
plans this month to launch a pilot training program for its NAS and SAN product lines.
2000 Champion
Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard Co.
Popular Product: HP Netstorage 6000
Key Strengths: Technical support
Partner Comment: "HP has been the easiest vendor to work with over time. It has been the most consistently channel-friendly." - Tom
Thibault, Thibault Associates Inc.
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