Taking away the data management headache
COOLSPIRiT’s managing director Damon Robertson, explains how its Proof of Concept (PoC) strategy eases the pain and risk of switching technology supplier with a ‘try-before-you-buy’ approach
Making a big investment in new technology is always a big gamble in the eyes of a customer, particularly when that technology is going to be handling all their sensitive and critical company data.
Questions will be whizzing around a customer’s head at a rate of knots such as: Will my data be secure and protected against cyberattacks? Can I scale up the solution if needed? Will it cost more than I thought? How can I trust that supplier? Will the product do what I need it to do?
There is nothing worse than an IT supplier that coerces a customer to invest in technology by claiming it has all the bells and whistles they need, but doesn’t actually give them a chance to test drive the products before committing their critical budget. By the time the customer realises it does not do what it says on the tin, considerable expense has been laid out and the relationship between customer and supplier will likely break down.
Not only does this cause mistrust on the part of the customer towards potential IT providers, but it also creates unnecessary headaches and stresses when trying to unpick the damage and get the right technology in place.
That is why COOLSPiRIT has invested in a fool-proof PoC strategy for data management that allows our customers to properly get to grips with our technology, understanding how it works and test it in their own environment before they commit to buy. With the current Covid-19 situation, we have tweaked this service so it can all be done remotely, keeping the safety of all in mind.
Using the GUARDiAN APPLiANCE powered by Commvault, we offer two different physical sized appliances to customers – either 2U or 4U chassis, which accounts for their size and requirements. The appliance offers comprehensive backup, recovery, archiving, with support for search and discovery and protection of Microsoft Office 365 data, should a customer require this.
Because of the current situation we all find ourselves in, we’re asking customers to rack and stack them in-house ready to be configured by our team. Not only does this help due to our engineers performing the install remotely and needing it powered up before we begin, but actually most customers’ in-house engineers understand how simple they are to rack and stack, and generally have a preference on where they want the kit to be installed in their data centre.
Once installed, our engineers log on remotely, ensure everything works with test data being protected, then we talk the customer through how to use the technology. They have four weeks to really try it out, and during that time they can speak to any of our team – account manager, engineering or support desk – getting any questions or queries answered. We go that extra mile to ensure the customer is happy with every aspect of the technology.
By the end of that month-long trial period, the customer is pretty much ready to take the next step and make the investment. They know it works. They know exactly what they are getting, and they know we will be here every step of the way and beyond to make sure they are happy.
We have the satisfied customers to prove our PoC strategy works. Our most recent success being a large engineering company with offices in India, China, US, Europe and the UK. They had all sorts of complicated legacy applications, hosted on an array of physical and virtual servers with different storage systems – all protected by disparate backup appliances – that they were keen to replace and consolidate. They went through the PoC with the team and we ticked every box almost instantly. They are now a customer.
Using our tried and tested PoC system allows potential customers to make their decision fully informed and at their own pace. During a PoC engagement they are dealing with professional account managers, pre-sales, engineering and support people who will tell them how it is, rather than colourful salespeople that will do and say anything to seal a deal. They don’t have to pay anything upfront. All we need is rack space, networking capabilities and an investment of their time so that we can show them how to use the product.
It really is as simple as that. A Piece of Cake. Or PoC for short.
To learn more about your PoC experience in 9 steps take a look at our 'Solution Spotlight' which has all the details of our PoC service and helps you understand how to eliminate the risk and realise the business benefits.
Are you budgets too constraint to deploy a new data management solution currently? You could be interested in the 'switch' discounts available from Commvault to help you and your company.
Ready to run a FREE PoC with COOLSPIRiT? - Simply Register your interest today
If you would like to talk simply call our expert team on 01246 454 222 or email hello@coolspirit.co.uk
