I’ve caught a little break in my schedule here at VMware Partner Exchange, and thought I’d take a moment to share with you some of the 'keys to success' NetApp partners are having with FlexPod for VMware.
1. Flexibility of the Size of the Platform
The ability to be able to scale a solution, from diminutive to colossal, FlexPod provides a means to deliver custom-tailored solutions designed to fit a project’s requirements versus attempting to fit a project to a fixed architecture.
2. Enhanced Service Offerings
FlexPod allows partners to lead the delivery of the platform and it’s associated services. Customers win as they receive turnkey solutions with high-touch service from a trusted advisor. This delivery model allows partners to deepen their relationship with their customers.
Partners are providing a wide spectrum of services for FlexPod in areas such as:
- Business Justification
- Assessment
- Architectural Planning
- Implementation
- Providing level 1 & level 2 Support
3. Integration with Systems Management Platforms
The FlexPod architecture provides a set of open APIs that enable IT service management with third-party infrastructure and systems management solutions. This capability provides partners with an advantage when positioning FlexPod in their customer’s environments. The decision to offer FlexPod complete with systems management and orchestration capabilities can be determined on a customer-by-customer basis.
4. Density Wins Deals
It’s fairly well understood that the ability to increase the density of one’s infrastructure can provide a significant benefit in lowering operational expenses of a data center. FlexPod is unique as it is the only validated stack architecture which extends the increase in density provided by vSphere, UCS, and Nexus by providing unmatched storage efficiency via data deduplication for production applications.
What is interesting is partners are leveraging the costs savings provided by dedupe in a number of creative ways including:
- Passing the cost savings on to the customer
- Ensuring their margins
- Financing an increase in solution capabilities without increasing the customer’s original budget
Partners stated a number of examples ranging from an increase in UCS nodes to adding in business continuance components with VMware Site Recovery Manager.
I commend the ability of our partners to turn a technical capability of a NetApp array into a means where they demonstrate their expertise in designing cloud based architectures that increases their value in the eyes of the customer.
Wrapping Up
I feel very fortunate to work with such a great group of partners; you guys (and gals) truly rock! Thank you for being a partner and sharing your success stories with me. I need to run, but hope to find time to share more thoughts before Partner Exchange wraps up.
Comments