How long has this company been in business? Are they using open standards? Do they have knowledgeable tech support? ..and so on.
Good startups make great partners, and a great partner will have crisp and compelling answers to these questions that CFO-types like, even before you start to ask them. Even so: you might not have needed such performance anyway, since your situation might have been risk_of_brand_name < risk_of_better_performance. (There's always a risk to choosing the "safe" alternative, but established vendors go through great lengths to make sure you don't see them.) This topic brings to mind a phrase I once read: "Truth and Technology will Triumph over Bullshit and Bureaucracy." -- PanAmSat's slogan(mantra?) as a startup, often accompanied by an image of Spot, dutifully lifting his leg to the competition (other interpretations abound)