Everywhere we look we see that subscription based “As a Service” models are revolutionising and replacing traditional capital expenditure-heavy IT infrastructure investments. Historically, customers have faced challenges such as over or under provisioning capacity, budget constraints, and limited human resources. IT has become extremely complex, and businesses find themselves having to administer disparate management systems, being held back by slow deployment, and burdened with large CapEx outlays even before they start to realise any value from their investment.
We are in the middle of a subscription model wave which is revolutionising Consumer, Commercial and Enterprise markets.
Subscription based “As-a-Service” models are a double-edged sword for many vendors as it places control exactly where it belongs: with the customer. Historically, projects were deemed to be complete once payment had been received by the vendor and the contract signed. In the subscription-based model, here is where the real work begins insofar as if the customer isn’t “feeling” the value of their investment. As the customer isn’t locked in, they can go elsewhere at the first opportunity. This rightly gives added weight to the adage “The Customer is King” as they truly are. If vendors don’t deliver on their promise, the customer is not hindered or locked into long contracts and will simply subscribe to another service.
This has led rise to the relatively new job title of Customer Success Manager (CSM) whose prime goal is to ensure that the customer derives and achieves all of the goals and success that they envisaged when subscribing to the product, and will continue to do so for the complete lifecycle of the product.
The 3 pillars upon which APEX is founded
Simplicity: Take advantage of technology that is operated by you but managed for you
Agility: Align technology with business needs, rapidly scale with greater flexibility
Control: Minimise risk and maximise resources to run your business on your terms
The APEX portfolio
The Role of the Customer Success Manager (CSM) in APEX Services
Current and planned APEX Services will come in two shades which will encompass “As-a-Service” offerings but also include our Enterprise-level support contract coverage included in the Enterprise ProSupport suite. Customers who have an existing Dell Technologies infrastructure install-base can use these services.
The Customer Success Manager will manage all “As-a-Service” and subscription-based offerings, in this case, APEX infrastructure Services. This means all APEX offerings that Dell Technologies manage will have a CSM aligned. All offerings that are customer managed will have a Service Account Manager (SAM) aligned. This means that APEX Cloud Services and APEX Custom solutions will be managed by a ProSupport Plus aligned Service Account Manager, who will drive success as a trusted advisor for customers.
The CSM has a unique and leading role in APEX services delivery. They are involved from the very beginning of the service lifecycle and are engaged when the deployment of the infrastructure services has reached 90% completion. Their goals are to ensure and deliver value to the customer. In this respect, value means that from day 14 of the Infrastructure Services implementation, the customer will start to attain tangible measurable value from our solution.
What is the purpose of a CSM?
- Primary contact for APEX As-a-Service Offers
- Helps you fully utilise APEX capabilities
- Maximises operational efficiencies
- Ensures a worry-free environment
The Role of the Service Account manager (SAM)
Service Account Managers are support advocates who ensures that the customer receives the best possible proactive and predictive experience from their ProSupport Plus investment. SAMs are engaged as trusted advisors and understand customer business objectives and IT needs of covered assets. The ProSupportPlus SAM also has a preventative role insofar as they conduct operational reviews analysis and recommendations, and provide best practices, maintenance, and lifecycle advice. PSP SAMs are also able to coordinate critical issues should those arise to ensure that problems can be solved quickly. All-encompassing strategic discussions between the SAM and the customer lay the foundation of the relationship through collaboratively setting goals and objectives which serve as the basis of regular performance or business reviews.
