How do you evaluate and select the best SSHD vendor and product for your data center needs and goals?

1 Define your requirements

Before you start comparing different SSHD vendors and products, it's important to define your data center requirements and goals. Ask yourself questions such as: what is your budget and TCO for SSHD solutions? What are your performance, capacity, reliability, and security needs? Additionally, consider your data center architecture, workload, and scalability characteristics and plans. It's also important to measure and monitor your data center performance and efficiency, as well as adhere to any environmental or regulatory compliance standards and policies. By defining your requirements, you can narrow down your options and focus on the SSHD solutions that meet your specific needs and goals.

2 Research SSHD vendors and products

Once you have defined your requirements, you can begin researching SSHD vendors and products that fit your criteria. Utilize various sources of information, such as vendor websites, independent reviews, industry reports, and recommendations from peers. This will allow you to gain insight into the features, benefits, drawbacks, and differentiators of each product. Additionally, you can compare prices, warranties, support, and reputation.

3 Test SSHD solutions

After researching SSHD vendors and products, you should test their solutions to verify their claims and suitability for your data center. Request a free trial, demo, or proof of concept from the vendor and install and configure the SSHD solution in your data center or a simulated environment. Additionally, run performance, capacity, reliability, and security tests and benchmarks to evaluate the results and feedback. Finally, compare the test results with your requirements and expectations. This way, you can validate the performance and efficiency of SSHD solutions in real or near-real scenarios, as well as identify any potential issues, risks, or gaps that need to be addressed or resolved.

4 Negotiate SSHD contracts

Once you have tested SSHD solutions and selected the best one for your data center, you need to negotiate the contract with the vendor. It's important to review the contract terms and conditions carefully and thoroughly. If needed, ask for clarifications, modifications, or exceptions. Additionally, you should seek legal or professional advice if necessary. Moreover, it's essential to negotiate the best price, warranty, support, and service level agreement (SLA) possible. Only sign the contract when you are satisfied and confident with the deal. By negotiating SSHD contracts, you can ensure that you get the best value, quality, and protection for your data center investment while avoiding any unwanted surprises, disputes, or liabilities in the future.

5 Implement SSHD solutions

After negotiating and signing the SSHD contract, you need to implement the SSHD solution in your data center. The implementation process should include planning and preparing for the timeline, following the vendor's guidelines and best practices, testing and verifying the SSHD solution's functionality, educating your staff on how to use and manage the solution, and monitoring and optimizing its performance. By doing so, you can guarantee that the SSHD solution works efficiently in your data center, while maximizing its benefits and minimizing its challenges.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?