Easily outstrips IBM and EMC in FIND/SVP survey
SANTA CLARA, CALIF. February 15, 2005 - Hitachi Data Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT) ranks first in an independent satisfaction survey of its global customers conducted by independent market researcher FIND/SVP. The survey of 247 customers, commissioned by Hitachi Data Systems, shows that 90 percent of the global storage provider's customers were 'extremely' or 'very satisfied' with its technical performance, and service and support. In contrast, the next strongest performer, IBM, received overall satisfaction levels of 66 percent on technical performance and 72 percent on service and support among this audience. EMC came in a distant third, scoring 62 percent and 57 percent, respectively.
"We have rarely seen any company, in any industry, reach these levels of customer satisfaction under the stringent measurement used here," said Bruce Kavitsky, senior vice president of the Guideline Research Division for FIND/SVP, which has been conducting market research since 1969.
Survey respondents rated Hitachi Data Systems highest in the areas of: quality of service during initial installation, flexibility in performing preventative maintenance on the customer's schedule, ability to assure long term support for the equipment and rapid availability of spare parts.
"Our storage systems are widely recognized for their innovation, quality, and reliability, but it takes more than that to maintain long-term relationships with customers. We are committed to achieving the highest levels of customer satisfaction. This survey shows that we are doing so convincingly for the third time running," said Dave Roberson, president and COO, Hitachi Data Systems. "I would like to thank all the dedicated staff at Hitachi Data Systems for achieving this top survey ranking."
In addition to once again beating the competition, Hitachi Data Systems continues to grow its levels of customer satisfaction. In North America, Hitachi Data Systems increased its technical performance rating by 13 percentage points from the 2002 survey to an unprecedented 94 percent and service and support rose by 9 percentage points to achieve a rating of 90 percent. Increases were also seen in the key benefit clusters of; appropriate solution and delivery, planning and problem avoidance, maintenance and upkeep, and relevant solution type.
The survey also revealed that a significant majority of customers have heterogeneous storage environments—with 96 percent in the US, 82 percent in EMEA and 84 percent in APIA having storage from more than one vendor.
The objective of the survey was to measure customers' satisfaction levels of various data storage providers, to define Hitachi Data Systems strengths and weaknesses from customers' viewpoint, and to pinpoint areas requiring improvement or areas holding strategic opportunities. The Guideline Research division of FIND/SVP surveyed 247 customers globally at the manager to executive management level in the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions. Comprised of Hitachi Data Systems customers, 49 percent also had IBM storage installed, and 42 percent also had EMC storage installed. Customers rated only the storage vendors that they use.
Hitachi Data Systems leverages global R&D resources to develop storage solutions built on industry-leading technology with the performance, availability and scalability to maximize customers' ROI and minimize their risk. By focusing on the customer's perspective as we apply the best hardware, software, and services from Hitachi and our partners, we uniquely satisfy our customers' business needs.
With 2,900 employees, Hitachi Data Systems conducts business through direct and indirect channels in the public, government and private sectors in over 170 countries and regions. Its customers include more than 50 percent of FORTUNE 100 companies. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.hds.com.
Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company, with approximately 326,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2003 (ended March 31, 2004) consolidated sales totaled 8,632.4 billion yen ($81.4 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors, including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's web site at www.hitachi.com.
Hitachi Data Systems
Tony Hynes
(408) 970-4836
tony.hynes@hds.com
Blanc & Otus Public Relations
Quinn Daly
(415) 856-5152
qdaly@blancandotus.com
© 2005, Hitachi Data Systems Corporation. Hitachi Data Systems is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark and service mark of Hitachi, Ltd.
HiCommand is a registered trademark of Hitachi, Ltd. Hi-Track is a registered trademark, and Services Oriented Storage Solutions, Thunder 9500, Thunder 9520V,TagmaStore, Resource Manager, ShadowImage, TrueNorth, and Virtual Continuum are trademarks of Hitachi Data Systems. All other trade names, trademarks, and service marks used herein are the rightful property of their respective owners.
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