Other Firms With Brand Strength Include Brocade, Dell, Hitachi Data Systems, Network Appliance, Sun, and Veritas

LEXINGTON, Massachusetts—December 17, 2002—Buyers of large-scale IT storage solutions think first of EMC, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard, according to ITSMA, a global advisor to companies that market and sell technology services.

ITSMA's study of market positioning and brand knowledge in the fiercely competitive storage market showed that EMC is clearly top-of-mind for buyers interested in purchasing storage solutions. More than one-third of storage decision makers mentioned EMC without prompting, and more than one-quarter said EMC is the firm they would most likely call for storage services and solutions. IBM and Hewlett-Packard were the only other firms mentioned by more than 10% of decision makers in ITSMA's survey of 300 IT executives from large enterprises and government agencies.

"Brand recognition is a critical advantage in today's storage solutions market," according to Lori Weiner, Senior Director of Research at ITSMA and author of Storage Solutions: 2002 Market Positioning and Brand Awareness Study. "Buyers are skeptical of new technologies and extremely conservative in investing in new solutions, yet performance requirements for storage systems continue to increase. The answer is often to consider offers only from the most prominent and credible players."

In addition to the overall brand leaders, buyers gave high marks to a number of other firms for strength in specific categories. Buyers relying exclusively on network-attached storage rate Network Appliance and Dell highest. Brocade Communications received the highest overall favorability rating of any company rated in the study. Hitachi Data Systems showed strength in categories such as storage consulting and storage area network (SAN) solutions. CNT and Veritas received high marks for expertise in business continuity and disaster recovery.

Other findings from the ITSMA study include:

• More than 50% of large enterprise buyers are planning significant changes to their data storage and networks in the next 12 months

• Growing volumes of data, data security, and higher availability requirements are the top three drivers for new investments in storage solutions

• Buyers' top priority in evaluating providers of storage solutions is protection of storage investments

• Buyers show a modest but clear preference for bringing together best-of-breed specialists over relying on single firms that can provide one-stop-shopping for all their storage products and services

About the Study
ITSMA's Storage Solutions: 2002 Market Positioning and Brand Awareness Study provides a detailed assessment of buyer perceptions of today's top providers of storage solutions. Based on telephone interviews with 300 IT executives, the study analyzes storage investment priorities, brand awareness and favorability, relative market positioning, preferred company attributes, and vendor selection influences. Study participants represent seven major market segments: financial services, government and public sector, health care delivery, industrial manufacturing, consumer products manufacturing, communications/energy/utilities, and retail.

Study participants provide ratings and comment on the following companies: Brocade, CNT, Cisco Systems, Dell, EMC, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi Data Systems, IBM Global Services, Inrange, McData, Microsoft, Network Appliance, StorageTek, Sun Microsystems, and Veritas.

For more information, visit http://www.itsma.com/research/abstracts/bst001.htm.

About ITSMA
ITSMA specializes in helping companies market and sell services and solutions more effectively. As a membership organization, we work with the world's leading technology, communications, and professional services providers to generate increased demand, strengthen customer relationships, and improve brand differentiation. ITSMA members include business leaders such as Accenture, BT, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, SAP, and Tata Consultancy Services, among others. Our comprehensive research, consulting, and training on topics including ITSMA Account-Based Marketing ^SM, Brand Positioning, and Solutions Development provide the insight and experience companies need to improve business results. ITSMA is based near Boston, and has offices in London and Tokyo. Learn more at www.itsma.com.