Nimble Storage has released SiteAnalyser, a cloud-based tool that enables reseller partners to examine non-Nimble end user storage environments and propose specific storage solutions. SiteAnalyser is non-invasive and provides resellers with accurate, in-depth data from end user environments without the need for manual discovery. This can eliminate the guesswork associated with sizing customer environments, resulting in the potential for a shorter sales cycle with better results for the end user.
“When we design a solution for a customer, we want to get it absolutely right. Sometimes that can be difficult when the customer doesn’t have the tools or time required to gather information to properly understand their requirements,” said Amirul Islam, Technical Director at NG-IT. “SiteAnalyser allows NG-IT to assess the customer’s environment using a non-invasive tool that gathers actual metrics from prospects’ servers. This information is presented in an easy-to-understand report, which can then be accurately modelled using InfoSight machine-learning capabilities to create a solution that is fit for purpose.”
With SiteAnalyser, Nimble’s reseller partners can provide prospects with a free analysis of their storage environment, making it easier to jump-start the sales process and identify the prospect’s unique application and underlying infrastructure environment. Within a short period of time, the reseller gains insights, accessible through the cloud, that are immediately actionable. The depth and accuracy of the information allows the partner to quickly recommend infrastructure solutions, and may create upsell opportunities that might have otherwise gone unrecognised. Subsequently, end users are equipped with in depth knowledge of their environment allowing them to invest in infrastructure that meets their storage needs today and in the future.
Resellers can accomplish these feats because SiteAnalyser removes the guesswork inherent in the traditional infrastructure sales process. The typical sales cycle is long and uncertain, relying on months of conversations and deep discovery to determine end users’ complex environments. Often, prospects are not themselves aware of the true nature of their infrastructure challenges or what solutions they need to optimise performance and availability of data and applications. This dynamic makes it difficult for resellers to create proposals that properly address prospects’ infrastructure pains.
“The traditional storage sales cycle requires the reseller to guess what solutions would solve their customers’ challenges based on incomplete and often inaccurate information,” said Rod Bagg, vice president of analytics and support, Nimble Storage. “SiteAnalyser is designed to remove that uncertainty, providing both the prospect and the reseller with hard data. Immediate access to this level of information can shorten the sales process, increase customers’ confidence in their reseller as a trusted advisor, and assist in proposing solutions that correctly address the customer’s business requirements.”
“SiteAnalyser can definitely help our pre-sales engineers understand customers’ environments and accurately size out a solution,” said Burns Bowen, Technical Director at SHI. “This allows us to shorten the sales cycle and ensure that the solution will work and the customer will be happy!”
Once end users become Nimble customers, they can take advantage of InfoSight Predictive Analytics to predict and prevent storage and certain non-storage issues across the infrastructure stack. Within InfoSight customers can grant their trusted advisor access to their InfoSight Portal which provides a deep level of intelligence of the customer’s environment, including data on capacity savings, protection benefits and downtime savings achieved over time. As a result, partners are able to demonstrate value and continue to identify additional business opportunities to provide services based on the environment. The SiteAnalyser assessment tool can be found under the Tools menu in InfoSight.
