Alvise Sinigaglia, Country Manager of QNAP Italy, illustrated the strategies and strengths of the company between NAS and switch solutions serving manufacturing customers.
– What do customers in the manufacturing sector ask for today, what are the critical issues?
For QNAP the manufacturing sector in Italy is one of the most important. It is a continuously evolving sector from a technological point of view, which is why the company offers a 360° range of products, to best cover every data storage and distribution need.
In the manufacturing sector there are critical issues such as saving data on board the machine, often in hostile environments, with high temperatures, humidity and vibrations. These data are fundamental today, they are no longer simple logs, but are precious information for analyses, to optimize processes and ensure their smooth functioning.
To maximize the possibilities of installation in production departments, the trend is also to reduce the size of storage devices, which together with the need to withstand difficult environmental conditions, leads to the choice of SSDs as a storage medium: they are small and robust. QNAP has had NAS of this type in its catalog for some time.
– Selling storage in the cloud era. It’s still possible?
Storage and the cloud are not at all antithetical, on the contrary, they complement each other. Because QNAP never tires of reiterating the importance of backing up in multiple copies, ideally three, with at least two different technologies and with one copy in a different location, a strategy called 3-2-1 backup. According to this strategy, there is always a need for one or more NAS with related disks and here QNAP is ready to make its contribution, to promote a hybrid solution, which includes both on-premise disks and the cloud.
In this regard, QNAP is working to launch its own cloud service after the summer. It is an important step, which makes it clear how the company wants to satisfy the needs of end customers 100%. This hybrid approach fits well with the prevailing mentality of manufacturing companies in Italy, which do not want to rely completely on the cloud, but prefer to have complete control over their data.
We must then take into account that the cloud has significant periodic costs, perhaps calculated on the basis of network traffic, both input and output. The issue of data sovereignty is also important: many companies do not want to take their most confidential information externally, so they prefer to organize an internal archiving system.
Finally, there is the issue of latency, the delay with which data is stored and read. Cloud latency is typically higher than that of a well-designed and built on-premises system. On the other hand, the cloud protects against catastrophic events such as fire. In short, for QNAP the best approach is hybrid.
Collaboration with Western Digital
QNAP does not produce disks but uses them in NAS, so it is natural that it relies on one of the largest companies in the sector. The relationship with Western Digital is excellent and has lasted for many years. The interaction between the people of the two companies allows us to find the right solutions to problems that may arise with end customers.
With Western Digital events, meetings and were organized for the partners webinar. All this to illustrate the synergies that exist between the two brands and which is the best product based on the needs of the end customer. For example, it makes no sense to propose a NAS enterprise class if you then fill it with entry level disks. NAS and disks must be chosen with the same criteria, to arrive at well-balanced solutions. This is why there are compatibility lists, which list the disks tested and certified at the individual machine model level.
It should be noted that QNAP does not operate exclusively with Western Digital, it is also open to products from other brands, but the relationship with WD is certainly privileged.
– What are the specifics of the QNAP price list and the solutions for the manufacturing sector?
The QNAP price list is particularly rich, it includes over 150 different machines, precisely to offer the right product, almost tailor-made, for the customer who operates in the manufacturing sector (and not only). There are NAS that prioritize capacity, thanks to many slots for mechanical disks, and which can be connected in cascade with other archives multidisco. Then there are hybrid machines, which mount both traditional disks and SSDs, for an optimal mix of capacity and speed. For those who aim for maximum performance in terms of speed, there are full flash NAS in the catalogue, which use NVMe SSD disks to have an exceptionally wide bandwidth. The offer is modulated according to the size of the companies, naturally, from SMEs to enterprise-level companies.
Added to all this are the switches, updated with the latest technologies, i.e. with ports from 25, 50, 100 Gb/s with Wi-Fi 6 and 7. Adra models are also available, which monitor the company network to identify malicious attacks.
– How important is training for QNAP?
Training is key to QNAP. The company relies exclusively on the channel to sell its devices, and it is therefore necessary that partners are always up to date, not only on the numerous products but also on the latest technologies. Only well-educated and informed partners can best sell QNAP products.
The company carries out a very rich program, which this year focuses even more on training at all levels, from entry level devices to enterprise class devices, both NAS and switches. QNAP’s purpose is also to grow its partners. For this reason he advises them on the most suitable courses, to guide them along a path that leads them to success.