Dell EqualLogic iSCSI SAN Storage Pricing Performance Virtualisation VMware

When pricing up a storage platform it is essential that you take into account all costs associated with the functionality you require - in terms of both initial outlay and ongoing cost.

This is an area in which EqualLogic is particularly strong. Through it's fully inclusive licensing model, all current, and future functionality is included "out of the box" which means that there will be no nasty surprises at the time of purchase or when service renewals are due. Let's examine this in a little more detail.

An EqualLogic Quote

We used to boast about the fact that an EqualLogic quote only contained two lines. One for the price of the appliance with all features included, and the other for manufacturer support.

Since Dell came along, we can't do this any more. It now only contains one line. That's a price for the appliance with all features, including your chosen level of support. It can't get much simpler than that!

I know it's been mentioned before, but here it comes again - all functionality is included - which means that every feature that is available on the platform at the time of purchase it is available, without additional cost, from the moment you take delivery. It gets better - any new software functionality that is added to the platform while a support agreement is maintained is added Free of Charge (usually via an in-place firmware update). This applies across generations, so even the original generation arrays can benefit from the latest developments. How's that for future proofing?

This is not an empty promise - since we have been selling the platform numerous new features have been added including thin provisioning, application consistent snapshot tools, alternative RAID levels and more. Through heavy investment Dell has accelerated the ambitious roadmap established by EqualLogic so many and varied new tools are within sight. More detail is available in other areas of this site.

Support can be added at time of purchase in either one, three or five year terms. Ask a competing vendor to present a five year term and they will begin to sweat.

So How Does it Compare?

At first glance the cost of "the tin" on a competitors quote might look very attractive - in line with EqualLogic's pricing or even below. Great. Now let's add some functionality.

In general terms, and not focusing on any particular competitors here, any significant feature is going to require an additional licence purchase. That licence purchase is going to require an additional support purchase, and if you dare to have multiple appliances you're going to have to purchase these additions for each and every appliance that you own. It soon adds up.

Many vendors choose to hide this model by providing a bundle of exciting sounding features with the base appliance purchase. Carefully worded descriptions make it sound like you're getting everything that you'll ever need, but when you actually drill down to the level of functionality something else is almost always needed to take full advantage or automate the process.

Support costs famously escalate to astronomical levels when the appliance is more than three years old. Even a heavily discounted initial purchase can cost you dearly in the longer term.

When comparing quotes make absolutely sure that you do so on a like-for-like basis and take the full cost of ownership over the lifecycle of the product into account. You may not require absolutely all of the features that come with an EqualLogic array, but even if you omit competitor licensing for those you do not use EqualLogic will almost always win the day on price alone. Wouldn't you rather have all available functionality anyway?

If you'd like to see a real EqualLogic quote - in the flesh - you can use the Contact Form above to request one!

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