SNA's evaluation and assessment business provides vendors and customers with a independent voice to perform detailed analysis of solutions and systems. Our technical team will deliver an unbiased evaluation of the target according to agreed-on criteria.
Evaluations are focused on systematically verifying claims by hardware and software vendors as to behavior, compliance, performance, or other documented characteristics. The outcome of a evaluation is a detailed analysis of claims, confirmation or rejection of the claim (with supporting data), and optionally a list of recommendations to correct false or invalid claims.
Assessments are focused on examining a customer (or optionally vendor) facility or function according to an agreed set of conditions, identifying areas of strength, weakness, opportunity, risk. The assessment team then presents a set of prioritized recommendations to address weaknesses and risks and take advantage of opportunities and strengths.
Our evaluations and assessments are delivered by our senior engineering staff and represent attention to both technical merit and practical experience in engineering projects at both micro and macro scales. Sine Nomine Associates is known for delivering best-in-class technology solutions, and our assessments and evaluations are based on this direct, hands-on experience.
How Sine Nomine Associates Can Help
- Evaluation
- Hardware Vendors - Compare and contrast competing technologies, and determine whether there is a market niche that is as yet under served by an existing solution.
- Software Vendors - Compare and contrast performance and functionality, to demonstrate comparative value of the software to customers.
- Customers experimenting with new technologies - Evaluate what technology is going to best meet established and future requirements.
- Assessment
- Companies with existing operations and data centers
- Networking and telecom companies with large network management or process management centers
- Other services vendors needing additional expertise in data center design and operation
What Sine Nomine Associates Offers
- Evaluation
- Testing of new hardware devices
- Testing of new software releases
- Testing of migration and installation processes
- Assistance in creating vendor requirements for device/software improvements
- Construction of business cases for device/software improvements
- Validation of study results (were proper procedures and test constraints used in a previously performed test, is methodology accurate and fair, etc)
- Assessments
- Third-party validation of installation plans and construction plans for facilities such as data centers and NOCs.
- Third-party validation of NMS and systems management tool configurations and operations processes for data center/NOCs (current state, ideal state, gap analysis, recommendations).
- Process and staffing assessments to determine efficiency, staff requirement projections, job descriptions.
- Assist in pre-sales process to market assessments on behalf of vendors/resellers
Why Sine Nomine Associates?
- Completely independent voice
Sine Nomine Associates is strictly vendor-neutral. We do not directly resell equipment or software, and do not modify recommendations to reflect a desired outcome contrary to factual evidence. Our Assessments and Evaluation business unit is the result of decades of experience in the computer industry, and is a logical evolution of the results-driven projects we have delivered to our customers.
- Specialized expertise
Analysis of enterprise products require specialized knowledge of the data center and enterprise environment that is often unavailable either in customer or vendor environments. Assessing the impact of a control or monitoring system on the entire data center environment requires the ability to cross design domains and see the system or systems in the entire context. SNA specializes in supplying talent with the direct experience to perform such analysis.
- Deep scholarly and laboratory skills
SNA has deep research skills and backgrounds that add credibility to evaluations. The number and type of advanced degrees, our publication records, and our participation in industry design and direction groups give us a unique perspective on the industry direction, and on what constitutes a viable future architecture. We apply these
skills to evaluations and assessments and back up that research with our own business and technical cases.
- Good vendor relationships
While we are an independent voice, we do maintain good relationships with the large enterprise vendors, who take our recommendations and requirements seriously. We have excellent relationships with major vendors such as IBM, HP and Sun, and can influence design decisions for future releases of products.
- Commitment to customer advocacy
While engaged, we can (and do) act as a direct customer advocate to management in ways that internal organizations cannot. In many cases, we have been able to make cases to senior management to fund and support necessary efforts that internal sources were unable to provide.
Contact us at info (at) sinenomine.net for more details on the assessment and evaluation services.
