News in the Channel - November 2022

DATA STORAGE

Storage management or data management? David Treadwell, solutions director at Titan Data Solutions, talks about how IT resellers can provide the best fit management solutions to their end user customers and what they should look for in their distributor suppliers.

All businesses will face the challenge of storing their ever-increasing volumes of unstructured data. But storing it is only half the story. Data is a corporate asset, and as well as ensuring that their data is secure and accessible, organisations need to be looking to analyse and monetise their data to understand what they are trying to achieve as a business. There’s a direct link – unlock the value of your data and see the results in your bottom line. The knock-on effect is that end user organisations now expect more from their IT suppliers. The conversation the IT reseller has with their customer will shift from ‘how many terrabytes do you need to store’ and providing a piece of hardware to manage that, to ‘what role does data play in your business success?’ and coming up with a data management solution to address their needs for now and in the future. In effect, it is a move away from traditional data storage to data management. Moving away from tradition Today’s data is stored on multiple storage systems, across multiple vendors, across multiple geographic locations and multiple public clouds. How can you keep track of what data sits where? Do customers really know what data they have? How much data is effectively lost in this very common model? Our role as a storage specialist distributor is to offer advice and solutions to our reseller partners to help combat these data siloes and help their customers free their data with effective data management tools. This undoubtedly adds complexity to the sales

process. The IT reseller will need to ensure the end user gets a solution that’s right for them, and that ultimately means they will need much more from their distributor supplier. Rather than just supplying a product and a price, the distributor will need to bring vendors, partners and the end user together to find that best fit solution. The traditional distribution model may not be meeting IT resellers real needs if they want to capitalise on the opportunity in their end user customers. They will need pre-sales technical consultancy, solution design and deployment, as well as post-sales support. They will need to understand the value of data to their customer and have the tools and the expertise to better equip and protect their end user’s infrastructure and workflow. In essence, they need a distributor who will work in collaboration with them, not simply provide a product number and a price. Look for a distributor who understands the value of data and has the tools and the expertise to better equip and protect an end user’s infrastructure and workflow. It’s also important to recognise that there are many vendors that are great engineering companies providing state-of- art solutions, but whose names may not be that familiar. Look at what the solution brings rather than the name on the box. The message is clear. IT resellers shouldn’t be afraid of demanding more from a distributor. Arriving at the ideal data management solution can be a complex issue requiring high levels of support, both pre- and post-sales. Don’t be afraid to ask.

David Treadwell solutions director Titan Data Solutions

Today’s data is stored on multiple storage systems, across multiple vendors, across multiple geographic locations and multiple public clouds. “

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About Titan Titan was founded in November 2018 by four directors who had spent their entire careers in data-related distribution. They harnessed this collective experience into a business plan for Titan, a ‘true value-add distributor’ – and not just another distributor claiming to add value. Titan bridges the technical skills gap between vendors, resellers and end users. By providing best-of-breed products and services, they simplify data management across the lifecycle, working with IT resellers to ensure their end user customers always receive the best-fit solution.

titandatasolutions.com