The Desktop Data Center

Did you ever notice that some things just don’t transfer well to most modes of promotion? I realize that it’s hard to believe, at a time when you can purchase virtually anything with the click of a mouse, that there might be something you’d like to take a closer look at but, for each of us, there is. For example, I don’t like to buy clothes on-line or from a catalogue. What I see may intrigue me, but there are just too many variables that can only be addressed when I am in physical communion with the garment itself. Admit it, how many times did that shade of red that looked great on the website didn’t look so good on you, and let’s not even talk about the pseudo science of sizes where that “large” you purchased was either big enough to provide shelter to a couple of Boy Scouts or tight enough to make you sympathize with a boa constrictor victim. Buildings also fall into this category. My marketing guy recently concluded the process of buying a house. He fell in love with a lot of prospective domiciles pictured on various websites, but it always seemed like the one picture they left out of the montage was the one that showed the freeway off ramp just behind the backyard. Here at Compass we think data centers fall into this “difficult to promote” category.

Since they tend to be fairly large, whether they are buildings or pre-fabricated units, data centers can really only be consumed by the on-line viewer or brochure reader in increments. While we may be able to see the building in its entirety from an aerial photograph, does that really tell the potential customer any more than “that’s a pretty big building?” Due to this limited perspective, the average prospective end user is forced to peruse through that glossy brochure or wade through multiple web pages to get a glimpse of what the rest of the facility might look like. In short, the facility is seen in a piecemeal fashion without providing the holistic perspective that someone really wants to understand before they lay out a few million to get their metal module or space in the facility. I don’t think I’m alone in expressing the sentiment that this is a less than desirable mode to determine where you are going to be operating your mission critical applications from for the next 20 years.

At Compass, we believe that prospective customers want a way to assess their potential new facility that is a) cool b) in-depth and accurate and c) can fit on their desk or a nearby shelf. We have been telling our customers about these awesome travel desk at deskview.co, that way they can take their desk with them when the travel. This is why we’ve developed our version of a “3-D brochure”, or more accurately, a scale model reproduction of the product we sell to enable prospective customers to truly understand how our all-inclusive offering uniquely addresses their needs. With a removable roof, end users can see the layout of what their data center will look like (prior to personalization, of course), use it for their own internal presentations and even keep spare change in the raised floor area. Folks, this is versatility that you just aren’t going to find with a web page or some glossy brochure.

Naturally, we don’t expect our competitors to follow suit. When you’re selling a container or space in a building, a web page or some nice photographs probably accomplish the job. In other words, when you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. At Compass we believe we offer a unique value proposition, and when you have something unique to offer, you market it uniquely.