Choosing the Best Hardware for Data Center Customers
When you sell hardware customers for their data centers, it is important to offer them the right products for their needs. Customers who make informed and successful purchases make for repeat customers. There are several questions that you will need to ask your customers to ensure you offer them the best hardware to meet their needs.
Every brand says that it has the best server, but you need to talk to your customers, ask them the right questions about their work, and you can offer them choices so they do purchase the best server. The best server to meet their needs.
With almost any computer- and server-based technology you may sell to a business; it is important to understand the operating system they currently have and if they believe they will change in the future.
Many tech gurus believe the operating system may be the first way to eliminate options—some hardware doesn’t work well with some operating systems. When talking to customers, discuss the operating system they currently have, but also, if they think there is a chance they will be changing in the near future. If they change their OS and their server quits working as well, guess who they will blame?
When working with customers, look at the server room. Are most of the pieces of equipment from the same brand, or are they a mixture of brands?
The answer to this questions can help determine and even limit what to offer a client. You’ll know if the current equipment is configured for some brands, for no other brands, or for all brands. This can help narrow down the list to offer for things that will work for a client, and possible things that will not work for a client.
The future, especially in technology is a somewhat murky place. New innovations are brought to the fore all the time. Something that is very popular today might be outdated and replaced by something else in a year or two.
That being said, an important thing to determine is how well hardware is expected to work in five years. The question serves a two-fold purpose: Will the technology still be relevant, at least as far as an educated guess is concerned, and will the actual machine be reliable. Another question regarding the future is what the purchaser sees in five years. Purchase a server that is too small and work slows because the server will have trouble keeping up. Purchase a server that is too big and you waste money. The important thing is to think about the future and purchase a server that you think will be right.
Also, consider industry trends. Some businesses can buy a piece of technology that will soon be outdated, at least by industry standards, and get along just fine for the next five or six years. Other businesses would be better served to move to the cutting-edge technology. The difference is more than money; it can also involve speed and reliability of performance. These issues and how they might affect a business—or not affect it—over the next five years can be difficult to make, but the issue is still worth discussing.
Another concern, especially for small and medium sized businesses is the amount of space available. It is not uncommon for these businesses to be space poor—and rarely if ever are there plans to increase the size of the technology footprint in a building.
It is therefore important to consider the size of the current space. You don’t want a machine that takes up a great deal of more space than is currently being used. Fortunately, there are many big producers that are found in small packages, but before a purchase and the wrong choice is made, consider the size of the current hardware.
You can also consider purchasing servers that are made to stay cooler than many of their older counterparts.
The electric bill to keep servers up and running can run high, but a big part of that expense is the effort to try and keep everything cool. There are two options in hardware to battle the issue of the higher energy bill; one solution is servers that do not generate as much heat as they have in the past; the other solution is to purchase servers that work in warmer temperatures than they have in the past. Either solution helps make the electricity bill a little easier to accept.
Versatility is a final consideration.
It is important that the server can support a business’s current software and hardware. It is also important to consider changes in the future, before a new server is purchased. Sometimes it can be difficult to envision changes that may occur in the next few years, but it can be helpful in choosing the right equipment that will keep a business running.
Do some investigation and you’ll know what to offer client. Finding the right server should, at the very least, offer uninterrupted service. It might even make things work better, offering you a chance to be a hero.
