A system with a pedigree.
Upper class.
Symmetrix.
However, there are important differences with this generation and that's why it's really catching on.
In large measure we are seeing adoption by customers that are brand new to VMAX. Nearly all are implementing virtual environments using VMware. A significant proportion are implementing advanced replication / disaster recovery applications (SRDFe & Recoverpoint are both supported). And best of all, we are outpacing growth of our strongest competitor by 3x.
But every silver lining has a few clouds. Fortunately, these are clouds we can quickly disperse.
VMAXe delivers mission critical capabilities at a price point that the cost-conscious can appreciate. EMC partners are a prime route to this market, especially in smaller or developing economies, but many are still building their understanding of how this is best positioned.
Sort this out and the volume of partner successes will rapidly expand - because partners will see the value to their own business growth.
Many have already seen it.
Starting with a partner business value proposition, VMAXe expands the opportunity horizon.
First, what are the customer's needs? For example, is there a mission critical application requirement? If so, partners can demonstrate that VMAXe offers the most competitive and feature rich capability. We can cite explicit examples and detailed advantages - and one of them is an attractive price.
If a partner has application skills - Oracle, SQL, VMware - they can create sticky upsell opportunities supported by tight VMAXe integration with Oracle, SQL and VMware.
If they have customers already using RecoverPoint in a CLARiiON or VNX environment, they can move to VMAXe and continue using what they know - with the partner providing services to make the transition smooth.
EMC also continues to expand partner opportunities for cross-selling - backup, security, data deduplication... The latest is VFCache. Just announced, this product extends flash with EMC FAST into the high performance server environment. That means every partner has a chance to expand their deal size, improve application performance, customer satisfaction and follow-on services business. Maybe sell a few more servers too.
We know that partners must be competitive. We know that they will regularly see HP 3Par, IBM XIV, Dell Compellent and others trying their best to perform in this part of the market. We know that we can beat all of them and we do it consistently.
Quick story: I spoke to a partner last week that had been asked to do a comparison of VMAXe with 3Par and Compellent. The request came from an international company with a very recognizable consumer brand and mission critical requirements.
You may guess what comes next.
VMAXe won the deal.
And the reasons sound like our marketing pitch: performance, scale, flexibility, reliability, non-disruptive upgrades, ease of use and price.
The partner had grown to expect the EMC high standard for product but, he said, "EMC has really been surprising me on price."
All the best and affordability too.
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