ST Mar-Apr 2021

ROUNDTABLE: STRATEGY
"A good understanding from the organisation,
explaining its needs, and fairly accurate projection for
the next few years are crucial. Then it's a matter of
searching for a solution which is not only a good fit at
present, but is also likely to be suitable in the coming
years. Afterwards, one or more selected products
should be evaluated and tested." - Veniamin Simonov, NAKIVO
CTERA's Michelson explains: "It's also
important to engage with business folks to
understand their requirements. After
collecting/analysing the data and getting
business input, it's time to formulate your
functional requirements and start looking
for the most appropriate storage
solution(s)."
ARE YOU GONNA GO MY WAY?
Another essential step when looking to
build a long-term relationship, is to look
ahead: an IT organisation scouting around
for a new match should look beyond the
here and now. Just like a person may not
tick all the boxes on the first date, upon
learning more about them, additional,
desirable, highly-compatible aspects may
come to light. The same goes for a data
storage product: an IT administrator
should not dismiss a solution because it
may not tick all the boxes at the start
because new, useful features may be on
the roadmap.
NAKIVO's Simonov spells it out: "While,
for example, a product may appear to lack
a critical feature required in the next two
years, there is a chance it may be on the
roadmap, or in development." Having said
that, if one of the end user's deal-breakers
is not on the cards for the potential
product match in the foreseeable future,
they should walk away, he says. "In case
the organisation needs a deal-breaking
feature today, and the vendor does not
offer it, it is probably better to go on
looking for another supplier."
The IT admin has a right to expect the
product to offer a number of appealing
features to the partnership, such as
reliability, ease of communications and
integration from the product. At this point,
with all of that in mind, what would make
an IT organisation 'swipe right?'
HEY, BIG SPENDER
Reviews are a great source of first-hand
feedback: whilst they are quite hard to
come by when it comes to romantic
candidates, in the case of IT products they
are easier to come by. These reviews (such
as those found in Storage magazine, of
course) can often help sway an
organisation who is to-ing and fro-ing
between two or three different solutions.
NAKIVO's Simonov mentions the benefits
of reviews and customer opinion: "It makes
great sense to look for online reviews and
case studies, paying specific attention to
negative reviews. The goal of such
research is making sure the selected
vendor is customer-centric and is focused
on user satisfaction."
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is another
important factor in an IT organisation/data
storage solution relationship. Whilst TCO
is something couples may often laugh
about as they once again spend money on
each other for anniversary gifts and
spontaneous presents, it is no laughing
matter for vendors, as Simonov
summarises: "Organisations with limited
budget may prefer to go with a more
affordable product, provided that it meets
the critical needs."
Finding the ideal partner takes a fair
investment of time and effort: however,
before starting their searches,
organisations need to be very clear with
regard to what their needs and constraints
are and what they are prepared to
compromise on. If the process is given the
commitment it warrants, the storage
solution and organisation can work
together happily ever after! ST
26 STORAGE Mar/Apr 2021
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