Compensation?

Thu Jun 20, 2013 7:11 pm

OK, accepted! Thank you!

SirCrowbar wrote:Personal/Testing licenses would be my vote as well.

Nothing makes a tester more invested in a project than ownership.

fbifido · Thu Nov 14, 2013 4:53 pm

Personal/Testing licenses would be my vote as well.

also

to some of our requested features, not everyone have or can do the same setup.

Mon Nov 18, 2013 2:59 pm

Personal/Testing licenses would be my vote as well.

Well, we have Free license that comes with HA. But if you require something more then it can give just let us know.

also to some of our requested features, not everyone have or can do the same setup.

Could you please clarify that? I don`t really understand how we can help you guys here.

Sc1entia · Fri Jan 10, 2014 3:21 pm

My vote is for discounted Personal/Testing licenses as well.

I work as an IT contractor, and it's hard to recommend something that you cannot stand over for the projects that I am involved in. For me that means something that I have used on a regular basis.

I do appreciate that there is the free version and a fully functional trial on offer. For me though I prefer having worked with the fully functional of the software for an extended period of time. As an example, I use FreeBSD in my Home LAB, and would have no problems recommending that as a storage server for test environment or production (if an SME).

I have used the free versions and trials of StarWind previously myself and was impressed with the performance (but they were always installed on very low performance hardware). If discounted licenses were available for testers/Private LAB Use etc, I for one would be happy to convert my test server to the full version of Starwind (Dell PowerEdge 720) and give it a longer term test drive. When evaluating storage software, these days I am usually installing it into a virtual server. This will give a good feel for how it works and the interfaces that are used, but is not ideal for performance measurements.

As an aside, I personally think it would be a good move to have a (indicative) price list available on the Web Site. I know at least of a few people that have not gone with your product (simply based on the fact that there was no pricing available on the Web Site). They did not want to get in contact for pricing, only to be "badgered afterwards about possible purchasing decisions" (their words - not mine). I would suspect that a LOT of other prospective customers get turned off as well

Just my two cents...

Fri Jan 10, 2014 5:13 pm

OK, accepted.

If somebody is not willing to talk to sales he's not going to buy anything either way.

There are multiple reasons not to list prices on the site so if you're interested Google (or Bing) for "inside sales model" and "channel network".

Sc1entia · Fri Jan 10, 2014 7:57 pm

I respectfully disagree with such a broad statement...

I acknowledge that there are different models for selling, and since you are working for a private company, then you should market however makes most sense to you.

However, for some projects at least, some quick decisions have to be made when it comes to budget estimates at the start of a project (or during the initial workshop). I have witnessed multiple times that a particular vendor has been excluded at that stage (not all storage related products of course). One of the main reasons given is that if a product is mainly based on internet based advertising, then their ball-park pricing should be there for all to see - if not then "what are they hiding". I don't agree with the reasoning, but it seems to be human nature all the same. Most of the time the project have a starting budget price, and have to find a product to fit in that price range. Even if one wants a server, one can get budget pricing from the respective websites very quickly (and anonymously).

If companies want "the best established solution" and "money is no object", then they generally turn to their Gartner subscription or something related and go from there.

I agree that if they don't want to talk to sales then there likely be no progress. But there is a difference between doing some preliminary research on a topic (e.g. software NAS solutions etc.) and going for some more detailed discussions/pricing for products that one may be interested in. I myself, very rarely buy a solution without talking to sales, but I mostly want to research and review a software solution capability anonymously, at least at the beginning.

Apologies for getting off topic - you have a great product, and for what it's worth, I think that software defined storage has a very bright and long future.

Thanks and regards,

K

Fri Jan 10, 2014 10:29 pm

It's Beta forum and I'm not comfortable to discuss many things (including listing or hiding prices) here. You're welcomed PM if you want. Thanks!

silentstorm · Wed Feb 19, 2014 9:33 am

Definitely license for homelab/personal use. I run this in my home lab and to have a personal license would mean a huge deal.

And if you're all doing Ok in Kiev and have a flight available from Vancouver, I'd love to visit and hang out.

Great application, though. Honestly brilliant. With VAAI, this is a huge deal.

Really appreciate the work you guys/gals have put into this.

Keep up the amazing work.

Wed Feb 19, 2014 3:09 pm

Thank you! Doing our best to keep you all happy

silentstorm wrote:Definitely license for homelab/personal use. I run this in my home lab and to have a personal license would mean a huge deal.

And if you're all doing Ok in Kiev and have a flight available from Vancouver, I'd love to visit and hang out.

Great application, though. Honestly brilliant. With VAAI, this is a huge deal.

Really appreciate the work you guys/gals have put into this.

Keep up the amazing work.

AKnowles · Tue Feb 25, 2014 7:12 pm

Just another vote for a personal license for home/lab use.

Tue Feb 25, 2014 9:04 pm

OK, accepted

AKnowles wrote:Just another vote for a personal license for home/lab use.

jcrowe · Wed Feb 26, 2014 11:50 pm

I vote for personal/testing license as well. I have a home lab that I would love to fully implement Starwind in.

Thu Feb 27, 2014 12:57 pm

We'll do! Beta program member would get ones for sure

jcrowe wrote:I vote for personal/testing license as well. I have a home lab that I would love to fully implement Starwind in.

k1_ · Sun Mar 23, 2014 12:31 pm

Personal/Testing licenses would be my vote as well.

Thu Apr 03, 2014 1:13 pm

We hear you guys! Thanks for sharing your opinion with us, we do really appreciate it!