HPE Hero Partner | Milestone Tech
AUGUST 19, 2020 • BLOG POST
IN THIS ARTICLE
- Milestone Computer Technology is a HPE Gold partner and woman owned small business established in 2001. In the last two decades, Milestone has grown into a nationwide solution provider specializing in enterprise and cloud services, hardware refresh and e-solution development/deployment
Milestone Computer Technology delivers critical storage capacity with a pay per use pricing model via HPE GreenLake
The Story: A state department in Arizona knew they wanted to transition to a pay-per-use model due to the Arizona 'cloud first' initiative, but hadn't yet made a decision on which technology vendor fit best with their needs. Additionally, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent need for many employees to work remotely, they had a critical demand for increased storage capacity. The department needed a solution quickly, and they were concerned the standard procurement process wouldn’t be fast enough for their needs.
The Solution: Milestone Computer Technology (Milestone) stepped in to help the customer find the optimal solution. Arizona’s ‘cloud first’ initiative initially led the customer to consider a few different public cloud providers. However, this presented several challenges in predicting cash flows, and going with the cloud providers would require high initial cash outlays.
Milestone then introduced HPE GreenLake as an alternative solution. With HPE GreenLake consumption pricing, the state department only needs to pay for what they use, and they benefit from the scalability to meet their capacity needs without making a large initial financial investment. Milestone also provided pricing immediately for the capacity needed. While this process typically takes a week to complete, Milestone understood the state department’s shortened timeline and was able to deliver a Statement of Work within hours.
The impact: Through the partnership of Milestone and HPE, the customer was able to quickly acquire the technology needed to increase storage capacity and address remote work demands as a result of COVID-19. Milestone followed an accelerated procurement timeline to rapidly assess, review, and order the necessary equipment and services needed. They even shipped the equipment in just two days!
Ultimately, by choosing HPE GreenLake the customer not only gained increased capacity, but also has the unique ability to easily scale up and scale down as needed. This means that the state department is well-positioned to provide for its employees and customers needs on an ongoing basis, even during uncertain times like these.
Q&A with Andy Johnson, Director of Enterprise Solutions, Milestone Computer Technology
How does working with HPE compare to working with other technology vendors?
We made a strategic company decision to align ourselves directly with HPE and focus on their specific portfolio. When looking at other vendors, it's hard to compare the breadth of the HPE portfolio since we can approach a solution with practically any HPE product to solve their needs. Partnering with HPE has developed a good trust with the HPE account team since we either both win or we both lose.
How does partnering with HPE help drive innovative solutions to take to market?
HPE consistently listens to customers and incorporates their feedback into product development. As a partner, it is important to not only believe in the products we sell, but also to know that the solutions that come out of engineering are a direct result of customer feedback. Innovative solutions like HPE Nimble dHCI, HPE GreenLake, HPE InfoSight, etc lead the way among manufacturers and really set HPE apart. It's easy to partner with a company like HPE that has a solid product offering across the board that appeals to our customers.
How does HPE help you win business and grow?
HPE stands behind their partners and has a vested interest in helping us increase our foothold in accounts. We work alongside the HPE Account Team in a collaborative effort to achieve a common goal: help our customers solve their IT problems in a cost-effective way using the best technology.
How do the partner programs, trainings and executive support help you succeed?
HPE has an extensive set of tools and trainings to help understand various solutions and products. The Partner Portal is rather extensive and thorough which is necessary for the various products that HPE has. The Customer Learning Badges are a nice improvement over constant certifications to keep updated on new technology/programs throughout the year.
How do you go above and beyond for your customers?
What drives us as a technology provider is making customers happy. Whether it's working towards solving a customer issue, helping them optimize their existing investments or facilitating a conversation around various cloud models. Customers look to us to help them on their IT journey and having that trust with a customer is both humbling and exciting as we walk alongside them over the years.