EMC Slides Down Poll: Page 2 of 3

Naturally, EMC questions the figures, refusing to cede an angry inch to Helmig. “People should be very careful with this document. Only 64 responses raises serious questions about the validity of the survey,” says Michael O’Malley, corporate communications spokesperson at EMC. Wit Soundview concedes that many of Gartner’s clients -- which would also be EMC customers -- did not attend the show. That said, Helmig believes the results are a good indication of the market’s current view of EMC.

O’Malley points out that EMC does its own internal survey on thousands of its customers and -- prepare for a shocker -- it consistently rates above 95 percent on the satisfaction scale. “This survey
doesn’t jibe with our numbers at all,” he says.

Hitachi wasn't the only company to beat out EMC in user satisfaction in the Wit Soundview survey. Veritas Software Corp. (Nasdaq: VRTS), StorageTek (NYSE: STK), Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE: CPQ), Sun Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW), and IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) also came in ahead of it. Conversely, Legato Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: LGTO), Computer Associates International (NYSE: CA), Quantum Corp. (NYSE: DSS), and Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HWP) brought up the rear behind EMC.

The results weren’t all doom and gloom for EMC however. Approximately 32 percent of the users surveyed said EMC would be their top choice for supplying virtualization software; 26 percent ticked EMC as their second choice. This puts EMC in the lead with the greatest virtualization mind-share, the survey states.

“It’s a bit strange, as they have been rather quiet in this area,” says Helmig (see Virtual Reality?). “[However] EMC’s lead in storage will give it an advantage on delivering new technologies like virtualization to users." Compaq and IBM have been more vocal about virtualization and came in close behind EMC.