Lenovo Creates ‘Easy Buttons’ For Data Management

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Lenovo Creates ‘Easy Buttons’ For Data Management

In an era of exponential data growth and accelerated digital transformation, Lenovo sees a huge upside for partners. David Mooney, vice president, Worldwide Storage Sales, Infrastructure Solutions Group, and Michael White, director, Channel Operations, Infrastructure Solutions Group, North America, at Lenovo explain why data management must not only be a core business priority for organizations but is also a fast-growing opportunity for partners.

Q. What are the market dynamics that are driving such an explosion of data and creating so many challenges for organizations to manage their data?

David Mooney: The pandemic has changed how people use data. Much of the data is now stored outside of the data center. Remote work means there’s a greater need to manage and protect data. There are a lot more bad actors who are getting access to data and holding it ransom. Data governance is increasingly complex, and organizations need many more layers of data protection.

Where the data is stored is changing, too, moving from the data center to the cloud. There’s a much stronger push on “why not” move to cloud or a cloud-style purchase environment. Businesses rely on hybrid cloud and use multiple cloud providers at the same time. Michael White: Greater intelligence on the edge is also driving a massive growth of data. 5G, video surveillance, analytics, autonomous driving and IoT are just a few examples. Devices on the edge pull in that data, which needs to be stored in the core or moved to the cloud.

AI is everywhere. Just about any company with an engineering team is doing AI, and it’s often done on high-performance workstations and storage. If a channel partner isn’t investigating AI with their customers, they’re missing out on a big opportunity.

23%

Annual compound data growth for data creation and replication from 2020-2025

Source: IDC

Q. Lenovo has been quietly making a name for itself in the enterprise storage business. What should partners know about Lenovo’s growing clout in this segment?

White: Lenovo has been in the storage business for some time, but we haven’t been splashy about it or made acquisitions. Lenovo has a long history in the enterprise storage business. We also partner with NetApp for data management software for our ThinkSystem storage systems.

Lenovo has a strong portfolio of data management products with highly reliable software stacks. Our solutions are adaptable to a variety of different applications for the edge, core, cloud and multicloud. We also have a deep bench of data management experts who can help our channel partners extend their reach in data management.

LEFT: DAVID MOONEY

Vice President, Worldwide Storage Sales, Infrastructure Solutions Group

RIGHT: MICHAEL WHITE

Director, Channel Operations, Infrastructure Solutions Group, North America

Q. How will Lenovo 360 allow partners to tap into the growth of the data management market?

White: The Lenovo 360 framework is about enabling solutions. We can cross-pollinate between our infrastructure solution partners and PC and smart device solution partners.

For example, PCs and smart devices are driving so much data to the core of the enterprise and cloud. Our partners selling laptops, desktops and workstations have seen this, and now with Lenovo 360, it’s easier for them to expand into solving their customers’ data management challenges. Our job is to enable those partners with the people, programs and tools they need to be successful and profi table when selling complex solutions.

Q. CRN recognized the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM5100F as a winner in the 2021 Product of the Year Awards in the Storage – SMB category. Why is this all-fl ash array so appealing to partners?

Mooney: If the last few years have shown us anything, it’s that we have to prepare for the unknown and need systems that can adapt. We believe that DM5100F is the most adaptable product in the market. It’s ideal for small and midsize businesses that need a higher level of data management but perhaps couldn’t aff ord it in the past.

The DM5100F can start with a single tray of SAN storage like most and scale up. However, it also adapts to type of data, location of data, and the management features of the data. You can start with a traditional set of features and add functionality without an issue. The DM5100F can start with block, but adapt to accommodate, fi le, and object storage. You can start on-prem and move to the cloud or multi- cloud, or start in the cloud and move to on-prem.

White: By unifying our channel eff orts through Lenovo 360, we can better reward partners selling infrastructure and smart device solutions with robust deal registration, incentives, and tier matching. Now, partners can not only present to their customers an award-winning solution to meet their data management needs, but they can do so easily using our bid platform, which provides immediate access to pricing and confi guration information.

Q. How are you helping partners develop these competencies in these areas?

White: We have data management certification programs, but we also want partners to be certified after they see the value in our solutions. We off er training for technical sellers and partners to help them through certifi cation. We also have strong technical coverage among our distributors as well as our own dedicated storage architects, so we are fully loaded to answer partners’ storage questions.

Q. Data is increasingly stored in the cloud. How do you see the opportunity for storage as a service?

Mooney: We see a huge opportunity in Lenovo TruScale infrastructure services to solve customers’ data management challenges. For example, we created TruScale Infi nite Storage as a pay-as-you-go storage as a service, where customers pay per dollar, per gigabit, per month and have a built-in technology refresh. TruScale allows partners to think about data management in a diff erent way for their customers.

Q. How are you making it easier for partners to sell storage?

White: Lenovo is coming out with prepackaged and prebuilt bundled data management solutions, so we can remove the friction and make it easier for partners to lead with solutions. Partners can buy the bundles as configured or customize as needed. Data protection and backup is one of our fi rst bundles because everyone needs it, but there will be more prepackaged data management solutions.

Mooney: We want to provide partners and their customers with multiple “easy buttons.” As we emerge from the pandemic, we want Lenovo to be welcomed by partners and viewed as a preferred data management solution. 