CCNP vs. EMCDCA/EMCSA for the storage guy..

Seeking some advice from the community..

I'm desperately in need of speciality level certifications. I'm a storage and virtualization engineer for over 6 years, but right now I have the opportunity to pursue the CCNP R/S since all the official class materials and CBT's are all available from the network folks at my job.

Frankly, I'd rather pursue specialist level EMC certs, but the cost to get study materials is simply not possible. And I question the ROI. EMC has done a good job making it difficult earning their badge. Whereas there must be over 200 third party books to help prepare you for Cisco stuff.

In the end

1. Which might get more attention for Full Time / Non-consultant datacenter focused employment? There doesn't seem to be a high demand outside the consultant realm for EMC certs, but I could be wrong.

2. Would it be crazy to think I could get EMC specialist level certified following the course outlines and using white papers from powerlink... Given I have a pretty deep understanding of the discipline already and work with some of the product line?