Initial product quality
The initial product quality section was EqualLogic's turn to shine. The company scored a survey-high 7.37 for this section and received a top-two box score from 88% of its respondents. It certainly seems that EqualLogic customers are enamored with the product's ease of use. When asked to respond to the statement "This product is easy to use," a remarkable 19 out of 22 rated it a perfect 8.0, yielding an average score of 7.64. The product was also highly rated for "This product was installed without defects" and "This product was easy to get up and running" (7.45 for each). It also received a 7.36 for "This product requires very little vendor intervention" and "This product did not require professional services."

"It's a piece of cake--really no issues, just plug and play," says Rush Enterprises' Williams of HP's EVA8000 (6.58). Yaple, at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, manages EVA5000s/8000s, as well as a couple of EMC Clariion CX300 Series arrays. "As far as getting the CX up and running," he says, "it's really not very complicated."

Compellent wasn't without its own quality virtues. Respondents liked Storage Center's ease of use, awarding it a 7.38 for "This product is easy to get up and running"; it also received a 7.33 for "This product is easy to use." However, they weren't as pleased with the statement "This product requires very little vendor intervention," giving it a 6.83.

But Compellent's big advantage relates to value. It was the clear winner when we asked respondents how they felt about the statement "This product offers good value for the money," receiving a 7.11 vs. EqualLogic's 6.95. The third-place "value product" was Hitachi with a rating of 6.81.