Storage industry analysts like to remind us that heterogeneous environments are a fact of life - but for 41% of you that only have one vendor's array, that's simply not true. And while most users have multiple kinds of arrays in their shops, only the tiniest fraction (3.5%) has five or more.

Which way is best? Users with only one vendor on their floor are happiest–only 15% are dissatisfied with their lot. The least satisfied group? 39% of users with three to four vendors on their floor.

As to the storage buyer's motto, 12% of respondents didn't like the choices they were given, and came up with a few suggestions of their own. The general theme: "Match the storage devices to your business application requirements," as one user puts it. And while you should go ahead and "get the the best bang for your buck," "don't forget about reliability and support" along the way.