The IT executives also said they aren't fond of vendors that license storage management software based on capacity. "I think it should come bundled with your hardware," Thomas said.

"It's just outrageous," said Oliver Fischer-Samano, IT director at Baerlocher Productions USA Llc. in Cincinnati.

When Tennant asked the panel if storage pricing was fair and predictable or a mystery, Inches called it a "Turkish carpet bazaar." He said users never get the best price on first offer and must wheel and deal -- unless companies agree to long-term relationships with vendors.

"You can cut the costs down enormously on the hardware," he said. "I mean hardware capacity is going up and up and up. The speed at which the hardware is delivering more capacity is faster than the speed at which we're filling it up."

Fischer-Samano said he can slash the cost of storage hardware in half, "just by going back and saying, 'Hey I have a better quote,' even if I didn't have it. They're willing to deal. Where they don't deal is with the service agreement, and that's where they get you."