With rapid advances in storage technology including data de-duplication, C-site solutions, virtual tape libraries (VTL's) and the like, storage suppliers have plenty to discuss with IT buyers and storage administrators. However when it comes to selling disaster recovery, vendors should not stop at the IT department. More than most projects, the complexity of disaster recovery initiatives involves a multi-phased justification process, and storage companies need to demonstrate an understanding of key constituencies and their problems/priorities, and be able to articulate a vision of how their company and its solutions will address those priorities over the longer term.
The challenge for storage sellers is that their primary contacts are in the IT department. The conundrum is that these advocates are going to be most sensitive to budget and the enormous costs of the initiative and less focused on what really matters (e.g. the business impact analysis and the process of building consensus). Storage companies must find ways to participate in the assessment process across the organization, at the least to collect credible data points for proposal development, and ideally to affect the outcome of the deal.
Action Item: Selling to just IT will get storage companies in on the RFP but it won’t win the deal. Storage sellers must understand how the DR decision will be made and become a resource to the decision makers by assisting with the process of triangulation. This will require forging joint-marketing partnerships with insurance companies, solidifying third-party service relationships and establishing other critical path alliances to elevate their importance in the eyes of key constituencies.
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