A product demonstration is one of your best sales tools, especially when you have a product like NetApp StorageGRID. StorageGRID is a feature rich, software-defined object storage suite targeted at solving the next generation and ever-growing use cases of object storage.
StorageGRID sounds good on paper during a sales pitch, but its unique features are even better conveyed via a product demonstration such as our Information Lifecycle Management policies (ILM), multi-tenancy features, and hybrid cloud integrations.
This is where Lab on Demand should be ready in your sales tool belt.
Lab on Demand delivers virtual lab environments for a variety of use cases, including demonstration, experimental learning, and product support. They offer three catalogs based on your use case:
- The traditional catalog geared toward internal and partner audiences.
- The Customer Hands-on labs which are located on the support site for any customer with a support site entitlement. Log in with your SSO.
- The Test Drive labs which are located off NetApp.com and are geared toward non-NetApp customers (prospects) with a goal of lead generation.
Did you know StorageGRID alone has 4 different virtual lab environments available?
- Enterprise Object Storage in the Data Fabric with StorageGRID
- Cloud Tiering with FabricPool
- Protecting ONTAP NAS with Rubrik and StorageGRID
- NetApp Data Backup and Recovery with Commvault
Not only do we have a lab dedicated to solely exploring StorageGRID, but also labs that target specific use cases like data tiering with FabricPool. We even offer labs to test our partner integration such as Commvault and Rubrik.
Lab on Demand makes it easy to spin up and get access to a StorageGRID instance. If you are experienced with StorageGRID, go ahead and tailor your product demo based on your prospective customers interests. If not, a lab guide is conveniently provided to walkthrough the key features and benefits of that specific lab. For folks with access to NetApp Field Portal, we have a StorageGRID proof-of-concept guide and test cases document updated for every release.
The StorageGRID Lab on Demand instances not only provide an effective environment for product demonstration, but also a learning environment to explore new features and integrations within a safe and disposable environment.
Let’s say you just provided a killer demonstration of StorageGRID to a new prospect and stimulated interest. As mentioned earlier, Test Drive labs are available to prospective customers. Go ahead and let the customer experience it themselves as buyers typically have a built-in distrust for sales pitches.
The benefit of Lab on Demand does not stop here! Lab on Demand even offers a bootcamp service that provides blocks of labs and are a good way to train NetApp or Partner sales teams with hands-on experience with NetApp StorageGRID. Further information including how to request a bootcamp: https://labondemand.netapp.com/faq#FAQ77
Again, for those with access, the summary of opportunities for Lab on Demand we offer with StorageGRID to different types of customers can be also found in the StorageGRID Technical Customer Deck on the field portal: https://fieldportal.netapp.com/content/531593
I first introduced Lab on Demand as a tool to provide a product demonstration of StorageGRID. But by now, you realize that it can be used as training tool and provide customers with a risk-free trial of the product. That is why Lab on Demand is one of your best sales tools for StorageGRID.
