This "ridiculous" level of exclusivity in the storage market obviously takes on a new dimension when you're managing storage from multiple vendors. That leads to the next issue.

Choosing a vendor

Enterprises' primary procurement dilemma is whether to purchase storage-virtualization products from a storage vendor or a third party.

If your true objective is flexibility, especially if you're planning major data migrations, a third party is the way to go, Taneja says. Such vendors as FalconStor Software and DataCore are capable of managing storage from multiple vendors simultaneously, whether they are EMC, HP, IBM or Hitachi.

Truly Nolen chose a third party, DataCore, even though the company uses only HP storage. The company evaluated virtualization vendors including HP, EMC, and Dell EqualLogic, but settled on DataCore because it was less expensive and offers the flexibility of using whichever hardware vendor it likes, Tokkaris says..

The major storage vendors promise to be able to manage a heterogeneous environment. Examples include IBM's SAN Volume Controller, NetApp's V-Series, and EMC's Invista. As a general rule, though, vendors support their own storage products first and others second, if at all.

"They always support their own systems first," Taneja says. "That means EMC's Invista supports DMXs and Clariions, and they might support some other foreign devices; but the support for foreign devices always lags, and support for foreign devices is always incomplete. The whole idea is don't support your enemies' boxes."

Peters predicts that as storage virtualization becomes more common, market pressure will force vendors to do a better job supporting their rivals’ technology.

If you get storage from just one vendor, however, the solution is simple.

"I say to the IT people I talk to, if you're a Hitachi Data Systems customer and you like working with them and you’re stuck with them, just buy their virtualization to make life more manageable within Hitachi product," Taneja says.

Sifting through the hype

By most accounts, storage virtualization is a no-brainer. Who wouldn't want to manage multiple storage devices from a single console, and gain data mobility that makes disaster recovery a breeze?

Storage virtualization will be about as common as automatic transmissions in automobiles within a couple of years, ESG's Peters thinks. “There are certain technologies that are just smarter and better than people doing it manually," he says.

Even storage virtualization vendors, however, can admit there are instances when the technology isn't a fit.

Storage virtualization is not for everyone, says Kyle Fitze, an HP director of storage marketing. Virtualization actually adds a layer of complexity, he argues. You have to manage the individual storage devices, as well as the virtualization layer, he notes. Despite virtualization, you still have to perform such tasks as reconfiguring devices after adding physical disks to storage arrays, he adds.