White Paper. Learn to Fish: Catch the Full Value of Simpana Software with CommVault Training. August 2011

Transcription

1 Learn to Fish: Catch the Full Value of Simpana Software with CommVault Training White Paper August

2 Copyright 2011 CommVault Systems, Incorporated. All rights reserved. CommVault, CommVault and logo, the "CV" logo, CommVault Systems, Solving Forward, SIM, Singular Information Management, Simpana, CommVault Galaxy, Unified Data Management, QiNetix, Quick Recovery, QR, CommNet, GridStor, Vault Tracker, InnerVault, Quick Snap, QSnap, SnapProtect, Recovery Director, CommServe, CommCell, ROMS, and CommValue are trademarks or registered trademarks of CommVault Systems, Inc. All other third party brands, products, service names, trademarks, or registered service marks are the property of and used to identify the products or services of their respective owners. All specifications are subject to change without notice. The information in this document has been reviewed and is believed to be accurate. However, neither CommVault Systems, Inc. nor its affiliates assume any responsibility for inaccuracies, errors, or omissions that may be contained herein. In no event will CommVault Systems, Inc. or its affiliates are liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from any defect or omission in this document, even if advised of the possibility of such damages. CommVault Systems, Inc. reserves the right to make improvements or changes to this document and information contained within, and to the products and services described at any time, without notice or obligation. 2

3 Learn to Fish: Catch the Full Value of Simpana Software with CommVault Training Why Do I Need CommVault Simpana Software Training? A seasoned mechanic with years of experience working with a certain older make of car may have difficulty when presented with a different, newer model that has all the latest electronic and pollution devices. While the concept of engine mechanics is the same, the skills and tools necessary to successfully work on a more technically advanced car are definitely different. There are numerous data management and protection software products that have been around for many years. Most IT staffs are familiar with the basic concepts of data management and protection, and have various degree of expertise with their current legacy products. Like a new car, CommVault s technology is a distinct departure from the norm and takes data management and protection to a new and higher level. Hence, experience in a company s legacy data management and protection product is most likely not sufficient to make effective use of the robust features and functionality of the CommVault Simpana software suite. CommVault Training Resources registrar@commvault.com registraremea@commvault.com registraranz@commvault.com registrarasean@commvault.com registrarchina@commvault.com Training is an essential component of any product s value. Billions are spent every year on software that promises new capabilities and time savings but ends up yielding a fraction of the promised value or even worse, no value at all. Decision makers are often careful to fully evaluate and test new software so the problem of improving production rarely lies in the software itself. Of course, consultants can be brought in to facilitate installation or help with specific issues, but once gone, who is capable of administering or operating the software effectively on a day-to-day basis? CommVault Simpana software training is the difference between struggling along as before with possibly different problems or effectively taking advantage of those differentiators that led you to purchase the CommVault software. Who Benefits from Training? From the negative side - Microsoft once stated that a backup administrator is only "... two failed restores away from a pink slip." The inference of this comment is that the seemingly mundane job of a Backup Administrator is quickly elevated to an indispensible member of the company when data goes 3

4 missing. In most companies and specifically public companies, the ultimate responsible person for business continuity is the CEO. Failure to adequately protect company data and ensure its recoverability can bring down a CEO and everyone in the management chain down to the Backup Administrator. An investigation into data loss and management's responsibilities can and will pivot on the question - "Was the Backup Administrator properly trained?" Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Chinese Proverb From the positive side CommVault Simpana software is a feature rich, all-purpose, multi-option product that, while functional and harmless with its "out-of-the-box" options, its value is maximized when properly tuned and managed for the environment. This requires two things - a person with environment/business knowledge and a person with product operational knowledge. Most companies have the former. It is the later which can easily be provided through the CommVault software training. As much as some front line managers may view backups as a necessary evil that consumes valuable resources, when it comes time to getting back critical lost data, a skilled backup administrator becomes the most important person in the company. And while in most companies the finance department looks upon training as a cost; it should instead be looked upon as an investment in the continuity of the business. Of all departments, this should be especially true of the finance department since they are most likely benefactors directly or indirectly of a successful recovery of lost data. So the answer to the question of who benefits is everyone. Training pays long-term dividends for your organization: morale is better, turnover drops, your ability to recruit qualified employees improves--and that's all above and beyond the resulting skills enhancement and performance efficiency improvements. Even in lean times, training remains a "must-do" for forward-thinking organization. Who Should be Trained? Obviously, the persons responsible for the administration of the software should be trained, but there are IT Help desk operators and end users that can benefit from training - and there are also compliance users that should go through training to ensure they are using the software correctly when performing audits or legal tasks. CommVault Instructor Led Courses System Administrator (3 day) Engineering & Support (2 day) Disaster Recovery (2 day) Advanced Storage Design & Media Management (2 day) Properly trained Help desk operators can be the first and best line of support for end users. They can respond to end user restore or recall requests more accurately and quickly if they understand more than 4

5 just the interface. Additionally, they can be the administrator s eyes in monitoring the daily health of the software and alert administrators to existing or potential problems. Exchange or SharePoint end users interact with the software on a daily basis for browse, search, and recall tasks. The Desktop/Laptop option empowers the end user through a Web console where they can define content and backup schedule, and restore their own files. Without training, these users will depend on either the IT help desk operators or administrators to respond to questions and perform the needed tasks. Training these end users can save you both time and money. Compliance and ediscovery tasks are usually assigned to legal or audit staff outside of the IT department. Auditors or legal staff usually lack the in-depth technical background of the IT staff and are rarely interested in learning those details. Yet, they must perform complex search tasks using the software. Legal or Audit staff s failure to perform these tasks correctly, or their inability to understand how to perform these tasks will put the burden back on the administrators to assist or conduct their own training. Ultimately, it s a decision of not if, but how you want to invest your money. Let CommVault train your Help desk operators, end user, and compliance users, or invest in the time to do it yourself. What Return on Investment (ROI) Should I Expect from Training? According to IDC, the three categories where training can provide a measurable return on investment are revenue generation, productivity performance improvement and cost reduction. More than 60% of IT Managers believe that the skill of their teams is the most important success criteria for critical IT functions. 1 Besides a reduction in labor costs, end-user support efficiency and productivity enhancement, there are also unintended savings that result from having a trained staff running your data management and protection operations. Savings include more efficient disk, tape and server utilization and faster recovery of lost data, all very important factors for cost-effective and low-risk operations. With a carrying cost per support incident in the range of $300 for those incidents closed within five days of creation, and 12 of these incidents a year, training offers an additional return in reduced operating expenses for the company employing trained personnel. So what do customers want? They want value. They want training (where appropriate) to make the organization more effective. The problem lies in quantifying that value in saved time, fewer mistakes, and improved production. Would the problems encountered during deployment of the software have been CommVault elearning Courses System Administrator Help Desk Operator Deduplication Virtual Server idataagent Compliance & ediscovery SnapProtect Technology Exchange Mailbox Archiver Exchange Compliance Archiver SharePoint Archiver Desktop/Laptop Option for Administrators Desktop/Laptop Option for End Users Content Director Continuous Data Replicator 1-Touch Storage Resource Manager CommNet Service Manager 1 IDC Worldwide IT Education and Training 2008 Vendor Analysis: IDC s Marketscope Model, Doc# , December

6 avoided? Would the deployment have been completed sooner and at less cost? Would operational problems have been avoided? Intuitively we know that training would address all of these issues, however it is unlikely they will show up on a ROI calculation. Finally, while it is true that training costs money and uses valuable employee time and resources, studies show training always provides employees with a sense of empowerment thereby increasing employee retention. Considering that the cost to recruit, hire, and situate a new employee creates a first year burden that is 1.8x salary, training to incent and retain employees adds a material soft cost benefit to an employer. Although training might seem like a luxury expense, it is actually one of the soundest investments available. What Method of Training Is Best? Public Classroom Training Public Classroom training provides a high level of interaction with the instructor. Students can drill down into specific areas of interest and participate in discussions with other users. Hands-on training environment can provide both experience and opportunity to explore the software. Instructor-led training is best suited for new users who have not developed a basic understanding of the product. Onsite Training For groups of five or more, customized onsite training is typically more cost effective than public classroom delivery. Instruction will focus on corporate specific priorities and topics, reducing the time devoted to generic product topics. E-Learning Available at the student s convenience, self-paced e-learning provides an alternative to scheduled classroom instruction. E-learning allows students to learn independently and repeat exercises as may be required to achieve understanding of the content. E-learning is a good format to provide feature specific training and general instructions for end users. The format is suited for onsite and remote users with basic computer literacy who have the discipline to complete the training without interruption. Should I Do Training or Installation First? Experiences have shown that attending training prior to installation helps you hit the ground running when the software is installed. Because the terminology and concepts are understood, you are better equipped to participate and contribute to the decisions that go into a successful implementation. Fewer miss-steps are made and you don't cover the same ground twice. On the other hand, when you have training after the installation you have the advantage of knowing what your installed environment actually looks like and you have an understanding of the issues confronting you. This makes you able to ask more relevant and important questions. Your choice! Either way, training enhances your knowledge. 6