The top 5 things you should never do when buying a SAN

Posted in: General, SAN, Author: yobitech (March 14, 2014)

As technical sales veteran in the storage field, I see people all the time. People who make wise decisions based on real-world expectations and people who buy on impulse. You might say that I am biased because I work for a vendor and although that might be true, I was also a consultant before I was in sales.

I operate under a different set of “rules” where my customer’s best interest comes before my quota. Here is a collection of the top 5 things you should never do when buying a SAN.

5. Buy out of a “good feeling”

Sales people are in the business of selling. That’s what they do, that’s their “prime directive”. It is their job to make you “feel good”. Make sure you do your homework and check every feature and quote item. This is so that you know what you are buying. A common practice is that sales people will put something in the quote thinking you may need it, but in reality, it may not ever be used. Make sure you talk to the technical sales person without the sales guy. Ask him for the honest opinion but be objective. Ask about his background as well so you know his perspective. A technical sales person is still a sales person, but he is more likely to give you the honest, technical facts.

4. Buy a SAN at the beginning of the vendor’s quarter

SAN vendors are in business to make money. They also operate under the same sales cycles. If the company is publically traded, you can look up when their quarters begin and end. Some align to a calendar year and some are fiscal. Here is the fact… You WILL get the best deal always at the end of a quarter. If possible, at absolute best deal at the end of the year (4th quarter). Since buying a SAN is usually a long process, you should align your research as well as your buying approval with the quarters. This will get you the best deal for your money.

3. Believe what a vendor tells you

I write this with caution because at some point you need to believe someone. As long as you keep in mind that the sales people that court you during the process has a quota to retire. The one that is willing to back up their claims by objective facts and real-world customer references are the ones that will most likely live up to expectations.

2. Buy a SAN without checking out their support

As a prospective SAN customer, once you are down to your final players, take some time to call their support. Perhaps at 2am on a Sunday or 6am on a Tuesday. See what kind of experience you get. A common mistake is that a SAN is purchased and things are running well, all is good. It is when there is an outage and you are trying to get support on the phone, that is not the time to test their support response. Check also what the industry says about their support. Other questions are, where is the support center located? Is it US based? Follow the sun?

1. Buy a SAN from a startup

I am a big fan of new and disruptive technologies. This is what makes us a great nation. The fact that we can have companies startups pop up overnight, they can also disappear overnight. Startups are great, but for a SAN that I am going to put my company’s “bread and butter” is not such a wise choice. I say this from experience as I have seen startups come and go. The ones that stay are the ones that are usually bought by the bigger companies. The others are just hoping to be bought. Usually 5 years is a good milestone for a SAN company to pass because by that time customers that made the investment in their products will be in the market again to refresh. If they make it past 5 years, there is a good chance they will be around.