As I start this new blog, my mind begins to wander…should I instead be utilizing this time to refresh my VMware lab to 4.1, or maybe check out the new Nehalem EX servers that just dropped. When you think about it, that’s the same trouble most executive level techs have…what technology to evaluate for possible adoption, and how to find the time to do it. The difference is that in my case I am never “stuck” with anything once I am done learning the nuances of each manufacturer’s pluses and minuses.
I note this difference because I have a technical lab with every single x86 chipset (HP, Dell, IBM & SUN-Oracle) at my fingertips, along with a half dozen technical trainers from each manufacturer ready for my calls. When I play with ESX 4.1, I will be able to check out the different servers and observe how they play with their cross vendor storage counterparts -Equalogic, HP, Lefthand, Dell, IBM, etc. This type of opportunity makes a big difference to my ability to evaluate technology.
It is too easy for me (and many others) to say hardware is a commodity, but I see it all, and I play with it all, and I know that that’s not the case. My staff is also encouraged to experiment with these toys so they don’t end up learning in front of a customer or seeing something for the first time on site. I consider it a key differentiator in this market. Anyone can go online, buy from a magazine, or even seek out a drop shipper to obtain product. How do you know what the superior product is though? Another thing to be careful of is the single brand sneaker vendor. You would be a fool to just buy a piece of hardware because a single manufacturer said it was the best. After all, could you see a guy coming in to sell you something and starting the conversation off by stating the product is a dog, lacks market share, or is a bear to support? No…if he only sells one thing, he has to call it the best.
I use the sneaker analogy because my son loves a certain brand of sneakers, but hates going with my wife to pick them out. She drags him along to one of the larger providers of sneakers (Nike, Adidas, Keds, Reebok, Zips, NB) and he looks around, tries some on, and lo and behold, he still buys the brand he had before. Still though, he was able to confirm that after comparing all the choices, his were still in style and were exactly what he wanted to wear back to school. He made an informed decision after trying all the sneakers.
That’s where I feel the technology VAR comes in. A Value Added Reseller should not only listen to your pain points, they should be honest and objective, and be able to show you all of your choices. The only way to do that, and to remain uncorrupted, is by carrying multiple lines and offering a choice of options to the customer. HP, IBM, Dell, and SUN-Oracle leapfrog each other on a cyclical basis –similar to Intel & AMD. Some of them have a better understanding of the Windows and ESX operating Systems, while others seem to sell on price hoping that the common perception is that if Intel or AMD make the processor, it is the same as all the others. I would like to see a price point manufacturer trying to tell that to an ESX Admin at 3:30 AM while they roll back some updates! These choices have consequences.
My experience consistently shows me that all successful IT projects need to start with a solid technology foundation. It’s the first and most important decision. That foundation should be a combination of power, cooling, capacity, supportability and practicality. Work out price and TCO once you’ve picked the VAR that you can collaborate with and who adds the most experience and credibility to your project…but get the foundation plan right!
I’ve walked into shops that have a variety of server vendors, a hodgepodge of D2D vendors, and a deluge of support contracts binding them to proprietary niche vendors promising to solve all the problems of their IT world. There is no cohesion or plan in place.
The reality is that new foundation technology is here…virtual consolidation is here. New trends are here. Clouds, Grids, Mainframes Class Computing, whatever you call it this decade -it is here. This does not mean that you should or should not be afraid to adopt this technology. It just means that you should make your choices based on business need. My caution to you (and if you know me, you have heard this before) is to remember it all starts with a solid foundation. Those guys in the catalogs or web sites are not in your data center on a regular basis. When something goes wrong (and it always does at some point) it will be you sweating it out while they are taking orders. Solid foundation infrastructure can cure a lot of future headaches.
I have some customers that come to WEI just for foundation technology. They have their own ESX guru or their boss’s cousin’s sister’s friend ready to do the software work. They still keep WEI in the mix because they know at the end of the day any software can be reloaded, but without a solid foundation, an entire project, or worse, the whole company, could fail.
Some of our best customers are highly technical folks, but they still want to take a step back from the daily grind and get a technology update from us. Not a sales pitch, just a fundamental understanding of what is out there and what has changed in the IT World. Sometimes they just want to know my thoughts on if AMD would be a better fit than Intel on a SQL server, or if ESX 4.1 is too new to jump to. They want advice on how to get and keep their foundation solid, and they know we see new gear every day. I hope those calls keep coming. It’s my favorite part of the job. Why wouldn’t it be? I get to play with the toys.
