Features

CSA 2007: Servers

DQI Bureau

28 Jan 2007 00:00 IST

New Update

Indian CIOs have traditionally been conservative about their choice
of server vendors; in a traditional Unix country it has always been a three-way
race between IBM, HP and Sun. There is no significant change in the status quo
though local vendors like Wipro and HCL often threaten to come to the party. But
going by what the majority of CIOs feel this would continue to remain just a
hollow threat, as neither are they convinced about the reliability and
functionality of HCL and Wipro servers, nor are they confident about their
operational convenience. Wipro's post-sales service efforts have not cut much
ice with CIOs; they bemoan the lack of availability of spare parts and quality
of interaction with service teams, besides being not confident about the company's
expertise in resolving problems.

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Server Vendor Ranks
	Rank '07	Rank '06	Change
IBM	1	4	^
HP-Compaq	2	1	v
HCL	3	5	^
SUN	4	2	v
Wipro	5	3	v
^ Up v Down
A minor one-point improvement by IBM (against an industry trend of a decline in satisfaction) pushed it up four ranks, partly due to timely delivery and installation

IBM and HP servers are reliable, is the near unanimous verdict of most
CIOs, way ahead of the competition

Most CIOs consider product as well as pricing and commercial as
the two most important parameters. While emphasis on product reliability,
functionality and convenience in operation is understandable, enterprises seem
to be equally concerned about getting value for money, having clarity in pricing
contract, credit facility and, most importantly, measuring the total cost of
ownership. While the two leading vendors, IBM and HP-Compaq, satisfy most CIOs
on the value for money and TCO fronts, even these two trip on the credit
facility issue. Except HCL, CIOs also feel that none of the vendors has much
clarity on its pricing contracts.

Servers: Satisfaction Scores
	Industry	HCL	HP-Compaq	IBM	SUN	Wipro
Product (100)	86.2	80.3	87.8	88.4	83.8	77.3
Pre Sales & Marketing (72)	84.1	83.0	84.2	85.9	80.1	82.1
Price & Commercial (83)	82.3	82.4	82.8	83.5	78.6	78.3
Delivery & Installation (75)	83.4	84.0	84.3	84.6	80.0	78.4
Post Sales Service (61)	81.8	81.3	82.3	82.8	80.5	75.1
Base: 584 CIOs
How satisfied are CIOs with their server vendors on five key parameters? The table lists scores derived from CIO responses to a range of questions. Figures in brackets indicate relative importance of the parameters as stated by respondents. Figures in blue represent the maximum and in red the minimum in each category

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Servers: The Top Two Parameters
Product	Industry	HCL	HP-Compaq	IBM	SUN	Wipro
Product Reliability	88.2	81.2	89.9	91.1	83.6	81.0
Product Functionality	85.4	80.0	86.8	86.8	84.6	76.0
Convenience in operation & adoption of the product	85.7	80.0	87.3	87.9	83.3	76.0
Price & Commercial
Value for money	84.5	84.8	85.3	86.1	80.0	80.0
Clarity of pricing contract	81.2	83.6	80.9	82.8	77.1	77.0
Credit facility received	79.6	79.4	79.9	80.2	76.1	80.0
Total cost of ownership	83.8	81.8	84.8	84.7	80.7	77.0
Note: The satisfaction scores are on a 100-point scale with 100 indicating the highest degree of satisfaction-very satisfied Base: 584 CIOs Along with product, pricing and commercial also emerges as an important derivative of satisfaction. IBM scores high on all parameters with CIOs expressing particular satisfaction on the product and pre-sales and marketing initiatives of IBM

IBM servers are the blue-eyed boys amongst CIOs. They satisfy
maximum CIOs on virtually every conceivable front: be it product reliability and
functionality, pre-sales marketing, pricing and commercial, delivery and
installation and post-sales service. Amidst uncorking the champagne, the Big
Blue needs to keep track of the one or two niggling issues like its credit
mechanism and spare parts availability that might cause friction with its
customers in the future.

'The
Indian customer needs end-to-end service...all within the framework of
regular support'

-YV Seshaiah,
country
ISS (Infrastructure Support Solutions) manager, IBM India

With respect to servers, what are the
customer service initiatives that IBM has put in place?

In terms of customer service initiatives from IBM, I would like to mention
delivery and quality assurance to enable our servers meet customer
requirements from day one; pro-active health checks; performance tuning
and other value added services to machine critical customers and remote
health tracking (ESA), and 24x7 support, backed by IBM Labs.

In terms of customer service, how
does IBM differentiate itself from its competitors?

The main differentiator is that we provide direct support for non-Intel
range of servers, while some of our competitors provide most of their
support through local partners.

What are the fundamental differences
in the nature of support services in India from that of the global market?

Customers across the world want only one thing-great service-and that
is true for the Indian customer as well. If there is a difference, it is
that Indian customers are going through exponential growth and the support
requirements are equally demanding. The Indian customer needs an
end-to-end service from the hardware vendor, including operating system,
performance analysis, and all this within the framework of regular
support.

The following four criteria would be
crucial for any post-sales service functions: Responsive (always available
for technical queries), Expertise (to resolve problem), Availability (of
spare parts), and Quality (of interaction with customers). How would IBM
rate itself on each of these?

Responsive: we have a 24x7 call desk through which a customer can access
technical support quickly; Expertise: we have among the best technical
teams in AP who are self sufficient to analyze and resolve customer
problems from simple to complex scenarios; Availability: we have excellent
part availability within the country-due to very effective part
planning, network of logistics partners, and are well supported by IBM
parts stores across the globe; Quality: we value feedback from our
customers."

How does the support team complement
the pre-sales & marketing and the deployment & installation teams?

Our support and the deployment/installation teams are closely integrated.

This helps in providing a
seamless transition from installation to support.
We have regular interlock with the pre-sales and marketing teams during
which ongoing and prospective projects are discussed.. The solution &
quality assurance process in IBM involves both pre-sales and post sales
teams and this helps bridge any gaps before the proposal is rolled out to
the customer.

Does the style of support
service/functions differ across different verticals?

IBM aims at providing the same service experience across the verticals.

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