CIOs should insist on built-in data telemetry on system performance in any new data arrays they buy, writes Consultant and Wikibon Analyst Scott Lowe in “CIOs Should Require Analytics As part of Vendor Infrastructure Support“. Advanced telemetry is a mainstream trend in the industry already, with HP, Nimble Storage, NetApp and other vendors offering it, and it is time for CIOs to add it to their required features list.

Data telemetry allows the array to send a constant stream of data back to the vendor in real time for automated analysis. This allows the vendor to automatically identify problems developing in customer equipment and take appropriate action, in some cases before the customer is aware of the problem. Instead of having to run manual tests to identify a problem and then call the vendor, ideally the first the customer knows of a problem is when the part, accompanied by a field tech when necessary, arrives at his door. That is the new standard of service.

Second, it allows the vendor to learn the details of each customer’s environment. Then if a software update, for instance, causes a problem with one customer the vendor can make appropriate adjustments to head off that same problem for other customers with similar infrastructures.

Third, Lowe sees the possibility of vendors leveraging their databases of customer data to answer “what if” questions. For instance a customer might ask its storage vendor, “What would happen if I rolled out VDI in my environment?” The vendor could look at its data on the customer’s environment, identify other customers with similar infrastructure and usage patterns who added VDI to their environments, and provide a prediction of what is likely to happen, what problems the customer can expect, and how the customer can avoid those problems.

Overall, Lowe writes, this is a win for both the vendor and customer. Except in very special circumstances, users should not buy hardware that does not offer this feature.