1. General knowledge and customer requirements - Identify customers IT hardware, application and services requirements
- Identify various DAS, SAN or NAS infrastructure capabilities
- Identify various RAID, storage virtualization and partitioning capabilities
- Identify various interface and drive technology capabilities
- Identify customer's environmental/physical requirements
- Describe Information Infrastructure strategy to improve Information Availability, Information Security, Information Retention, Information Compliance
- Describe Information On-Demand strategy, Information Infrastructure, and Information Life-Cycle Management Solutions
- Describe target markets and opportunities for IBM DS5000 storage solutions
- Describe how IBM DS5000 can help solve a customers business problem/pain points
- Determine the appropriate infrastructure, RAID, virtualization, partitioning and interface solution that will meet the customer need.
- Determine how IBM DS5000 System Storage solutions meet Disaster Recovery needs
+Determine how IBM DS5000 System Storage solutions meet Energy Efficiency needs - Describe the support and warranty differences of the DS5000 vs DS8000 and DS4000/DS3000 products
2. Sales Process, Tools, and Resources - Identify and locate the appropriate marketing resources to sell the systems to the customer
Leverage Sales Kit, System Storage Executive Briefing Center, System Storage Interoperability Center or System Storage Solution Center or Business Partner Innovation Center (BPIC)
+Determine the business justification (TCO/ROI), prepare a proposal and provide pricing/warranty/licensing terms in order to create and design storage solutions that meet customer needs - Identify and utilize appropriate sales tools and resources to create and design storage solutions that meet customer needs. (pricing tool, interop, online help, eConfig)
- Identify and locate the appropriate tools to demonstrate the advantages of DS5000, DS4000, DS3000 functions(e.g., Storage Manager, Simulator, eLearnings, technical documents)
- Utilize the Storage Manager/Simulator to show the manageability and functionality of the storage manager
- Leverage the benefits of IBM Global Business Services, IBM Global Financing Services and IBM Managed Services
- Identify key extended support IBM team resources to help design the solution. (techline, ATS)
- Leverage appropriate contacts and resources for information regarding IBM's Information Infrastructure strategy including the three core technology innovations (Virtualization, Archive and Retention, and Security )
- Determine the appropriate group to call for assistance during a sales process
3. Product Portfolio - Identify basic hardware features and functions of each of the DS3000 series products
- Identify basic hardware features and functions of each of the DS4000 series products
- Identify hardware features and functions of each of the DS5000 series products (connections? Types?) (more specific, cache, paths- backend loops)
- Identify software features and functions of Storage Manager
- Identify Dynamic features available on the DS5000 series
- Describe the business benefits, differentiating features and positioning DS5000 products and software (relative to the DS3000, DS4000, DS6000, DS8000, Nseries). - When to sell what, where
- Describe how FlashCopy, Volume Copy and Enhanced Remote Mirroring can help solve a customers business problems
- Determine the appropriate products, connections, drive types and features that will meet the customer needs
- Identify when to position the DS5000 with the SVC
- Determine how to leverage DS5000 in a tiered storage environment- ensuring growth in both primary and backup storage needs
4. Competition - Identify the current storage offerings and features from the major competitors EMC, HDS, HP and NetApp
- Describe the competitive features and weaknesses of the major competitors
- Describe the additional DS5000 SPC, business benefits and advantages over equivalent offerings from the major competitors
- Explain the competitive advantage of DS5000 from a TCO perspective
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