Winner: EMC
EMC continues to prove its channel chops by once again winning the 2012 Annual Report Card award in the Enterprise Network Storage category by trouncing its peers in just about every possible way.
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EMC, which was also the 2011 ARC winner for this category, solidly defeated NetApp, Dell, IBM and Hewlett-Packard with strong wins in the product innovation, support and partnership subcategories and in every criterion, save ease of doing business, where NetApp barely got the edge.
EMC's enterprise network business encompasses a wide range of products, including its VMAX-e flagship arrays, VNX modular arrays, Isilon scale-out NAS solutions, and high-end Data Domain and Avamar data protection solutions, giving it a broad, sophisticated product line that is actually very easy to use, said Eric Herzog, EMC's senior vice president of product management and product marketing. "The bottom line is, we have this incredible storage line in both storage hardware and software," Herzog said.
EMC is not surprised it won the category, he said. "The power of that portfolio means our channel partners know they are getting peace of mind whatever EMC products their customers use," he said. "Channel partners know we stand behind them. That's why we've won this category six years in a row."
Partners understand that only EMC provides such a broad range of primary and backup storage wrapped with total support, Herzog said. "We also provide choice," he said. "VCE, VSPEX, or best of breed. However customers need it, we provide it, along with the support and programs to go with it."
Jamie Shepard, executive vice president of technology solutions at ICI, a Marlborough, Mass., solution provider and EMC partner, was surprised it missed out in ease of doing business. "I see EMC as No. 1 in all these categories," he said. "You can't just go to a customer and say, 'You want EMC?' You have to be committed to EMC."
