Finding the right vendors to supply storage products is a critical issue for an increasingly large number of IT departments, especially those that have adopted an infrastructure based on an open systems compute model.
In that environment, where data is doubling every year and the old approaches to storage simply can't keep up, a company's storage architecture has become a central, even a strategic, issue.

It's not always easy to see the right path, with technology changing rapidly and storage becoming independent from server platforms. The selection of the right storage vendors can make a major difference in helping a company chart the right course.

But before we talk about what to look for specifically in a storage vendor, it makes sense to remember what the storage environment looks like.

Surveying the storage landscape

First of all, storage is changing rapidly. New storage technologies are continuing to emerge at a rapid rate. These include new connectivity options, file systems optimized for storage, enhanced data management tools and improved storage resource management utilities.

Some of these new technologies are little more than marketing ideas, but some represent genuine advances that will become the mainstay of the next generation of storage tools.

The maturing of open systems client/server computing is also helping to drive the creation of a separate storage discipline - one focused on managing and accessing the data itself rather than on the processor platform running applications.

Open systems IT installations are becoming truly open. On the processor side, it's becoming rare to find organizations that limit their server and operating system to a single supplier. And on the storage side, it's rare to find all of a company's storage purchases carrying the same server platform brand.

Instead, integrators and IT departments have become adept at picking best-of-breed solutions, and they expect to be able to make them work in whatever environment they have. Some companies even have officially designated storage architects - staff experts with the job of steering the organization to the best storage strategy.

The general IT business environment also must be considered when companies decide on their storage strategy. Even at the major-system OEM level, mergers, acquisitions, restructurings and shifts of emphasis have become the norm. And we all have seen product launches that seem as if they were little more than marketing ventures to test how strong the demand really is. As for start-ups, many come and go, while only a few produce real innovations that turn into a long-term set of solutions for customer problems.

Storage vendor selection guidelines

So what does this say about how to choose a storage vendor? Here are a few key guidelines.

Look beyond your server vendor. Storage will continue to be a separate discipline, one that needs separate vendors, potentially even several kinds of storage vendors, each a specialist in a particular area of storage. So continue to look for storage expertise that is independent of your server vendor, and develop an in-house storage knowledge base to help steer your storage strategy. It also makes sense to use independent outside resources to help you differentiate between the real and the ephemeral.

Find suppliers that are in the business for the long haul. As in any field, the kind of vendor-customer relationship you want is based on a long-term partnership that you expect to grow over time. Look for vendors that are committed to that kind of business model. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't use products from a start-up, but it does mean that for long-term critical storage decisions, you need to match the stability of your partner with the importance of the solution to your business.

Look for a wide product range. If a vendor has only a single, limited point product, it probably means that you will have more vendors and will change them more often. I'm not suggesting you go back to the model where a single-system OEM supplies everything, but you should look for a rich product line that covers a broad range of your needs in a given area - a product mix, for example, that could supply both midrange and data center needs. A company with a broader product range will also tend to have a better chance at long-term success.

Seek companies with a strong financial position. For a long-term relationship to work, both parties have to be successful. Make sure your vendors are successful enough to continue investing in new technologies and innovative products. Companies that are very weak financially may have fine products, but they are not very likely to create more of them.

Watch for a commitment to continued growth. Look to see whether your potential suppliers are developing or acquiring synergistic technologies, creating new products around them and demonstrating the ability to evolve their role and product set as user needs change. If they are primarily a hardware supplier, for example, are they also investing in software or in new connectivity options? You should expect that your vendors are laying the groundwork to support you as technology changes.

Find vendors that work well with others. With the disappearance of the single-vendor data center, the reality is that suppliers must be able to work together in ways that solve customers' problems. As a customer, you want to be served by vendors that view other companies as part of the solution and that put your needs first. Signs of finger pointing, failure to work with other companies, or any other similar non-cooperative tendencies ought to be a major red flag.

Insist on a commitment to service. Not all service is the same. What you want from a storage vendor is service that is matched to your needs, not aimed at creating a new profit center for the supplier. One of the major reasons that an open systems architecture saves money over the captive model is that it charges less for service. Look for a storage vendor with an open systems service approach that serves you rather than gouges you.

Ask for a road map. The only constant is change. New technologies will emerge. The problems will look different next year and the year after. Look for a storage vendor that is watching the changes with you and thinking about where the technology and your architecture are going. A road map that looks ahead to different solutions is essential. It's hard to evaluate vision, but it's important that you try to do it.
A good relationship with a few storage vendors can make your job as an IT professional easier today and over the long run. It can even help you solve your storage problems in a way that gives your company a strategic advantage. The key is taking enough time to ask the right kinds of questions.