Account Control.
The usual suspects: IBM, Sun, HP, EMC.
You go to spec out a new box. Your storage requirements are part of that. They are going to find out about this requirement very early in the process.
A very big argument they have in their favor is their claim (threat?) that they can "better support" their own hardware.
Obviously, EMC isn't in the server business, but they have a reputation for outstanding support. (It'll be interesting to see if that continues amidst all the cost-cutting...).
From the customer side, there's a strong move these days to minimize the number of suppliers. Theoretically, this reduces your costs, and allows you to more narrowly focus you support staff's levels of expertise to those few products you're purchasing.
Someday, when storage is truly virtualized, this won't be an advantage for the box makers...
All IMHO, naturally.
Steve |
