Posted on Wednesday, August 31, 2016 in Storage Hardware
Like any industry, IT storage hardware vendors merge, fold or are acquired on a relatively frequent basis. For the CTO, this confusion is incredibly unhelpful, particularly when trying to define a long-term strategy that will govern their IT provisioning for the future.
Uncertainty is further increased when other vendors create attractive offers, designed to encourage businesses to make the leap to a new OEM. IBM has recently announced the Flash In program as a “no-cost” migration initiative for any enterprise that is not a current Big Blue customer, for instance.
The IBM deal provides new customers with up to 5 consecutive days worth of data migration and installation services. Where CTOs cannot clearly define the future of their current OEM, deals like Flash In could be the determining factor in their decision to migrate.
Flash In, cash out
Any existing customer affected by a merger or acquisition is right to be concerned about the affect on their business. The choice to migrate to another OEM however, is unlikely to reduce confusion – particularly during the transition phase.
And the switch between vendors is always particularly expensive, even if the project is simply replacing post-warranty storage systems with flash-based upgrades. Capital investment in new hardware, support and maintenance contracts and ongoing consultancy are all unavoidable costs that quickly mount up.
A less disruptive way to avoid disruption
The CTOs job involves a high degree of risk minimization to protect IT service status – hence the interest in finding a permanent solution to the confusion surrounding a merger. However, shifting to a completely different vendor, introduces a whole new degree of completely avoidable risk.
Far more sensible would be the use of a third party maintenance service like CDS to extend the lifespan of existing equipment until the “potential disruption” of a merger has passed. Keeping current systems in place, even if they have reach official end of service life, presents zero risk of disruption and offers the opportunity to save cash that can be reinvested once all confusion about vendors has been resolved.
Whether your organization chooses to stick with your existing vendor, or move to another OEM, the decision is entirely yours. Your data remains online and available, regardless of any disruption outside your business. And if you do decide to move to a new vendor, CDS offer a range of cost-effective, complementary services including disk erasure and data migration to assist.
To learn more about how CDS can help your business navigate corporate merger confusion safely, please get in touch.
– See more at: http://www.cds.net/blog/2016/08/it-tech-uncertainty/#sthash.JJ3Z3vRS.dpuf