Training for your future in storage

The program ‘matches up’ resellers with other business partners to provide them with the skills and business expertise in which they may otherwise be lacking.

“For example, we often partner-up systems integrators with independent software vendors (ISVs),” said Costigan. “The ISVs are typically competent in the application area of the sales process but may be less confident at the hardware aspect of the sale.”

He commented that when it comes to training, resellers need to be targeted in what they are trying to achieve. “Training can be time consuming, so it is crucial that resellers focus on what is driving their core competencies in their business before embarking on specific training.”

A combination of skills

Clive Gold, director of product marketing for EMC, maintains that a combination of training opportunities is a safe way for resellers to obtain the skills they need within the storage space.

He said that in addition to the array of vendor programs that are out there, it can also be good to get an independent flavour for storage from an industry body. He pointed to the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) as an organisation offering vendor-independent training.

“Particularly for new resellers within the storage market, it can be a good idea for them to get general training in other generic areas, such as administration,” said Gold.

He pointed out that the storage market is still relatively immature and, accordingly, that the rate of technological innovation is quite high. “Servers, for example, are very fast nowadays, but they are not changing a great deal. So there are many things for resellers to learn, especially regarding new and emerging technologies such as virtualisation and thin provisioning. Resellers need to get ahead in these types of areas now if they want to take advantage of
upcoming opportunities.”

Gold also mentioned the burgeoning demand for environmentally efficient technologies, an area which is taking centre stage in the storage arena.

“Energy efficiency is now huge and the question of whether the use of ten drives or maybe just the one drive [being] sufficient for needs will increasingly arise. Resellers need to be aware of these issues, as well as the other big market drivers, so that they can be well-informed as to where their training needs lie and be able to take these skills to market.

“The more that resellers know, the more their margins can grow. But they also need to maintain close relationships with their vendors, because as the sophistication of these products is ever evolving, they must develop relationships that can evolve with them for the long term.”

Klikon is a reseller specialising in storage consulting and architecture, alongside hardware and installation services. Sales director David Abouhaidar said the company currently sees storage consolidation and virtualisation as two of its biggest focuses.

“Becoming certified with the vendors on their partner programs covers most of our training needs and really helps us to understand the technologies, back to front and inside out. I think that having a thorough understanding of the technologies is at the heart of what is required to succeed in this market.”

Training as a sales opportunity

A not-for-profit organisation, SNIA has recently established an education committee to look at the potential for selling storage networking training through the channel to end users. “We have seen a steadily growing take-up of SNIA education courses by end user customers, many of whom do not know how to implement, use and protect these types of technologies, said SNIA chairman, Jacob Van der Eyk.

“By selling bundled packages of storage training through channel resellers, resellers will be given the opportunity to take some margin from the sale, as well as provide an added value proposition to their sales side, and thus increase the trust of their customers.”

He added that “resellers who may have a consultancy division could have the option to become a certified trainer and deliver the content under license themselves”.

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