EMC customers should develop a plan that aggressively leverages thin provisioning and storage virtualization where appropriate over the next six to twelve months. They should have that plan on the CXO's desk soon. This will serve to both heighten awareness of the imperative among executives and increase leverage with incumbent suppliers. The possible outcomes of this strategy are: 1) A guarantee from IBM for delivery of similar functionality; 2) Much better terms and conditions on array deals; or, 3) Acceptance of an alternative proposal from Hitachi, Sun or HP.