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External Product Evaluation and Preliminary Customer Assessment Overview
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IS department assists product
development and testing
Before a
StorageTek product goes to market, it has probably already been
tested through our own information systems (IS) department. But
now our IS department is getting involved in product development
long before the testing phase. A program called preliminary
customer assessment (PCA) is now being used to ensure that
product development teams have access to IS input and insight in
the earliest phases of product creation.
Putting
new products to the test
Right now, our
last step before releasing products to market is typically
"external product evaluation," or EPE, which was
previously known as beta testing. Using our own IS group as an
EPE site gives us a chance to:
q Replicate customer usage conditions.
IS provides a production environment
similar to most of StorageTek's external customers, thereby
allowing us to test compatibility with products from other
vendors.
q Catch problems before customers see them.
Eliminating bugs before customers
see them increases StorageTek's credibility and reputation for
quality.
q Identify and showcase benefits.
Having products working on-site
creates an opportunity for potential customers to view the
product and talk to our IS team about their experiences with it.
StorageTek's IS
group can test both hardware and software in OS/390, SUN
Solaris, HP/UX and NT/Win 2000 environments. Through PCA, the IS
team has become part of various customer advisory boards and
provided technical input to product development groups. As a
"typical StorageTek customer," IS can analyze products
in blueprint stages and early development. That means IS can:
- Help define potential
target market spaces
- Identify value propositions
and business benefits
- Consult on technical
feasibility
- Outline financial justification for purchasing the product
One of the
products to use the PCA process was the SN6000 Storage Domain
Manager. IS assembled a team of experts who analyzed the new
product and recommended it be installed in our own corporate
computing center where it saved approximately $1,000,000 on
capital expenditures. This cost helps external customers see the
SN6000's potential cost-benefits.
IS
stands ready to offer similar support in other product
development and testing efforts. If you have any question
concerning either testing or the PCA program, contact Deb
Saret at 303.673.3109.
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