Re: The total list price was $3.2m, discounted to $1.25m
AFAIR, according to SPC rules, discount provided by vendor in test must be granted to anyone who decided to buy the same config. BTW, EMC VMAX has the same discount.
Moreover, HPE has FC switches for $150K after 50% discount while VMAX connected directly.
I heard several anecdotal stories about buying on list price, for instance, when one vendor wanted to buy competitor's equipment for it's lab:)