Strategic consultancy services are provided on a completely independent basis. Projects can range from Architectural Principles consultancy, helping our customers develop an appropriate data management strategy and turn this into effective storage architecture, to Request for Proposal (RFP) management and execution and Data Centre migration.

Smart421 is able to demonstrate a significant track record in strategic storage consultancy.

To arrange a 45 minute introduction at your office or via conference call to discuss how our Strategic Storage Consultancy will help you, please contact us today.

Customer Stories

A Global Investment Bank
Global Storage Replacement Programme

The client was performing a global multi-petabyte storage replacement programme, where Smart421 represented the client on behalf of the UK storage team. The role included technical input and evaluation in the RFP process, assessing:

• Technology functionality and differences between vendor propositions
• Analysis of alternative storage configurations
• SAN configuration requirements
• Engineering
• Training
• Integration and migration costs
• SLA requirements

Additional work included a POC and functionality testing of nominated arrays.

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An International Financial Conglomerate
Chargeback Reporting

The client was suffering from a perception of insufficient chargeback to the business units for the storage consumed. This led to increased operational costs assigned to the Storage Division.

A manual data collection procedure was in place to roll up costs from custom scripts written by the client. There was little understanding of what the scripts did but a formal process was followed to cross charge business units for consumed infrastructure dependent on the script results.

Smart421 was engaged to provide Technical Consultants to understand both the scripts and the process being followed for cross charging. Further analysis showed that not all internal infrastructure was being included within the data capture and that costs were not being apportioned correctly in certain situations. Smart421 were able to provide a team of experts to create new custom scripts and associated documentation.

The client immediately cutover to this new process and were able to provide their management with accurate cross charges and significantly lower OpEx costs.

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A Global Petrochemical Organisation
Technical Configuration Standards Update and Common Language Dictionary (CLD)

Technical Configuration Standards - Smart421 was engaged to update technical standards to improve use and efficiency of the global storage resources. A review of the current standards was conducted and following a gap analysis a new Standards Document was delivered.

Common Language Dictionary (CLD) - The client was experiencing confusion and inconsistency in communications when talking about storage and its component elements. Smart421 was engaged to review and amend the CLD, to engage with third party vendors and consumers to provide education. The output was a standards document with an agreed definition of storage terminology that can be used globally in storage related communications.

Both these activities were considered key building blocks in the client's move to an improved reporting and chargeback roadmap.

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