As a system builder, you spend a lot of time sourcing components to meet your customer’s needs while trying to stay within budget. There are a lot of options to choose from, but just because two component’s features appear to be the same, it doesn’t mean they’re equal. In most cases, they’re not.

Purchasing components from untested manufactures can lead to frustration: incompatibilities, performance bottlenecks and high failure rates are all possibilities. These issues cost your business time, money, and potentially the trust and business of your customers. To alleviate potential problems, most system builders certify a component from a specific manufacturer. The chosen manufacturer typically has a wide range of offerings, making it possible to get your parts without having to certify a new component each time you process a new order. Whether your customer needs thin clients or high-end surveillance systems, the certified manufacturer should be able to offer you components for both orders that offer reliability as well as compatibility.

When Price is King

Price should never be the sole determining factor. While it’s important, educating the customer on the value of choosing components from trusted manufacturers may provide you with a little more flexibility when building their systems. The educated customer will often choose reliability over cobbling together the cheapest possible solution. In addition, the manufacturers you certify should offer products suitable for general-use scenarios as well as components designed to meet specific requirements.

When Performance Matters

Sometimes it’s all about the numbers. Or so it seems. Your client may not be aware that, in many cases, raw numbers can be deceptive. For example, a lower performance component that has been developed and optimized to meet the requirements of a specific industry or application would likely perform better than a higher speed component. This can be difficult to communicate unless you choose a manufacturer who is willing to assist you by providing the materials and information you need to share with your customer. A good manufacturer knows that you are an integral part of its extended family, and is prepared to educate you on its product offerings.

When Reliability Trumps Features

Sometimes your customer is more interested in 24x7 reliability than in the feature set. If you have certified a reliable component vendor, your job will be an easy one. Selecting a manufacturer with a long history of producing quality products for your customer’s industry will make it easy to meet your customer’s reliability concerns.

When Help is Needed

Whether it’s providing answers to your customer’s questions or getting answers to questions of your own, your supplier should have a system in place to get you the information you need quickly. An OEM/partner support website is a minimal requirement. A good partner site should include basic information, troubleshooting, and educational materials that are available to you 24x7. In addition, you should be able to call the certified manufacturer during business hours with questions that can’t be easily answered by a visit to the partner website.

Seagate® offers a wide range of hard drives to help system builders create the perfect solutions for their customers. Whether you’re building a speedy application server, a turnkey surveillance solution or a front-office package for a dental hospital, Seagate has a drive that will meet your performance, capacity and storage requirements at a competitive price.