Your Storage Assessment Results
Read on to find the right solution for your business.
For scores of 14 – 33
HOLD ONTO YOUR VALUABLES
You are a SAVVY IT GURU.
You’re in a great position to hold onto your working storage equipment. According to your assessment, your equipment is dependable and meeting your needs. And even if it is post-warranty, EOL, or EOSL, you have reliable support options that can keep it running for years to come.
You can continue getting the most from your current gear with support from the OEM if available, but that support also comes with high maintenance costs. Have you considered a Third-Party Maintenance (TPM) provider? You will find savings and more options for your data center.
Avoid The High Cost & Disruption Of A New Equipment Purchase
- Direct the money saved towards another IT asset or initiative.
- Lower your maintenance costs & increase your coverage flexibility.
- Slow down your hardware refresh cycle & maximize your ROI.
- Extend the working life of your equipment until the time is right for you to bring in a new solution.
For scores of 34 – 66
MATCH THE RIGHT OPTION OF UPGRADING, BUYING
REFURBISHED or BUYING BRAND-NEW
You are a DISCERNING IT GURU.
Your responses indicate that a closer look at your environment is required. You’ll definitely want to review all options before simply pushing the “Buy Newest” button. Take time to learn more about the variety of solutions that make the most sense for your data center strategy. Buying the newest gear isn’t always your best answer, depending on your needs. You can choose to instead upgrade, configure your current gear to maximize performance, and/or buy refurbished equipment. Then do you go with maintenance provided by the OEM or a Third-Party Maintenance (TPM) provider? A TPM option will typically offer substantial discounts on the maintenance and you can also pocket more savings by purchasing newer (not the newest) refurbished gear.
Which Solution Could Work Best For Your IT Environment?
- Increasing your capacity by upgrading your storage with more memory could be the answer to meeting your business demands.
- Maximizing your existing storage environment’s capabilities by increasing capacity or adding more cache memory may meet your business demands.
- Improving performance with newer storage gear, but not paying top-dollar for the newest. You get increased speed and functionality at a considerably lower price tag. Plus, you’ll have the added savings on your post-warranty maintenance costs!
- If there is a must-have feature that is only offered with the newest release, then new it is. Just remember your post-warranty alternatives once the warranty expires.
For scores of 67 – 100
CHECK YOUR BUDGET FOR A NEW STORAGE EQUIPMENT
ALLOCATION LINE
You are an ASTUTE IT Guru.
You have described a data center that would welcome the improved performance and exclusive features found only in the newest generation of storage. It is still worth a quick conversation with an expert in storage & storage support (in addition to your OEM rep) before signing up for new gear. You may learn that there is a flexible, cost-saving solution that can meet your support demands, freeing up your budget immediately and annually for other IT priorities.
The More You Know, The Better Your Outcome
- OEMs make long-lasting high-performance equipment which they like you to replace with a newer version on a regular basis.
- Third-Party Maintenance (TPM) providers offer great service for OEM equipment with a focus on keeping stable gear working for years.
- Learning about TPM options is simple. One brief meeting and you’ll leave with greater insight into how to reduce costs and maximize efficiency for your business.
Additional resources
6 OEM myths to question: Don’t extend warranty support; it’s better to buy new. It’s time to buy new when equipment is End-of-Life or End-of-Service-Life. Only the OEM can make updates to storage software. Support is always provided by an OEM engineer. OEM engineers are trained storage experts with insider knowledge. The best service delivery is provided by the OEM.
OEM support vs. third-party support – be prepared with what to know for each: how costs differ and why, coverage and service offers of each, flexibility and support options for both, is there possibility of customization?Which fits your needs better? Which option should you choose?
What is End of Life (EOL) vs. End of Service/Support (EOSL)?
Know what your options are when your data center server, storage or network hardware approaches End of Life (EOL) or End of Service Life (EOSL)/End of Support (EOS).
Share the Storage Equipment Assessment with your IT circle.