Consequently, the primary issue around the hardware (while stability and performance cannot be compromised) remains flexibility and scalability. Appliances that limit users to one offering of disk, and even some specific type of disk, probably will not be able to incorporate new technologies over time. Appliances that do not allow users to include legacy storage, or even separately purchased storage, are probably not enterprise.
The nature of backup causes a customer to think about the consequences of tomorrow. Backup prepares a customer not just for what might happen, but for a restore that will happen when his or her company looks differently, and when the technologies evolve.
Support
The support offering of the appliance is perhaps its most important feature. Appliance companies usually do not tout their ability to fix and repair stuff that will break. Yes, we all know that stuff breaks. Sometimes a breakage is simply changes in compatibility or settings that must be updated. Support from the appliance manufacturer has three of its own appliance-conscious elements: range, cost, and diagnostics.
The range of a support contract for backup appliances must include end-to-end or head-to-toe maintenance. Stove-piped support that moves users from software to hardware engineers during a break-fix call kills the effectiveness of an appliance. The appliance vendor needs to support what they build as one unit.
The cost of support should follow industry expectations of 12-to-18 percent each year for a comprehensive support contract. If an appliance vendor only offers 90 days or one year hardware replacement, run away. Costs should include everything inside the appliance and under one agreement, too.
Diagnostic support defines the appliance offering. To diagnose means to root out the source of the problem, from software to hardware, and then proceed to fix that for the customer.
Today’s appliance vendors offer some capabilities. Many of them even have good service options that offer a number of interesting features. However, schools and universities need a solution that has everything. Use these parameters to find a solution that offers just that—everything.
John Pearring is manager of sales for STORServer. As STORServer’s president from 1995 to 2008, John built the original OEM alliances and the original e-business infrastructure for the company.
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