When you think about your data management strategy, making smart investments in the right technologies is probably top of mind. But that’s only a piece of the equation. Once your new technologies are in place, it’s equally important to make sure you’re maximizing return on your IT. This may seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Many of our customers are leveraging Residents to make modernizing IT a whole lot easier.
Keith Waryas, Dell EMC Director of Product Management, recently discussed this topic with Dell EMC TV reporters at Dell EMC World. Check out the video at the bottom of this page to learn more.
Here is a summary of what they discussed during the interview:
Tell us about Residency.
Residents are technology experts with deep expertise in specific product sets. They help our customers:
- Increase IT staff expertise with knowledge and best practices sharing
- Accelerate adoption of new Dell EMC technologies
- Optimize the operation and management of their data center
Is Residency like outsourcing? How does it compare?
Residency is very different from outsourcing. While traditional outsourcers also work onsite with customers for a long period of time, they typically have a very general understanding of the technology. Residents, on the other hand, are technology experts who help customers accomplish specific tasks.
Describe some of those specific tasks.
For example, we have a lot of customers transitioning from old NetApp filers to Dell EMC systems. Residents can help with the transition. Once the customer’s new system is in place, Residents help operationalize ongoing operations, processes, and procedures. They also use Dell EMC best practices to train your IT staff, driving knowledge transfer from our team to yours.
The bottom line
Residents help customers sustain a higher level of value and a greater return over time.
So Keith, I’ve got a great staff. I’ve got a lot of intelligent people here. So why do I need a Resident?
Think of Residents as force multipliers inside your environment. They’re not intended to replace your IT staff. Their goal is make them much more effective. I mentioned the transitional use case, but I’ll give you another example. If you think about modernizing and transforming IT, we’re really asking IT to focus on doing more than simply operating technology. We’re asking them to deliver more value to the business. We want them to do both of these things, but they don’t have the bandwidth. Customers deploy Residents to give them that capability.
For example, one of our customers wanted to focus more time on accomplishing a strategic project, but they didn’t have the bandwidth. We brought in 31 Residents to help. The results? The customer spent more time on their strategic project, accelerated value, and accomplished their goals much faster.
Dell EMC has grown in size. The portfolio has grown tremendously. For example, now we have servers. Are they part of your roadmap?
Yes, we’re onboarding that capability right now for Dell EMC Servers and Networking.
At what point should customers consider Residency Services?
Our customers get the most value when they plan to use a Resident ahead of their technology transition. Residents help customers get over the new technology hump they’re facing post implementation. They help onboard operational processes and bring in best practices. So the time to consider using Residency Services is when you’re thinking about transitioning to a new Dell EMC technology, and the time to deploy them is right after you roll out that new technology.