Pure Storage emphasizes its subscription models for storage hardware purchasing, believing it provides an advantage due to the ease of upgrading its products. At the recent Accelerate event in Las Vegas, we spoke with Santiago Navonne, Pure’s product manager for its Evergreen consumption purchasing models. He discussed the benefits of storage-as-a-service for customers, Pure Storage’s unique offerings compared to competitors, and the reasoning behind subscription purchasing for both customers and vendors.
Navonne highlighted that the storage-as-a-service model is ideal for customers familiar with a cloud operating model, especially those with unpredictable data growth, like banks expanding through mergers and acquisitions. Pure Storage stands out from the competition with guarantees beyond just uptime, offering energy efficiency and unlimited capacity guarantees. The company’s architecture allows for easy, non-disruptive upgrades, making it cost-effective to maintain and upgrade over time.
While some customers may be hesitant to switch to a subscription model initially, Navonne explained that Pure Storage ensures the value of this consumption method through factors like power bill coverage and flexible capacity consumption. The company aims to minimize upfront commitments and provide fair, flat pricing for customers, with no renewal price increases or penalties for discontinuing a subscription.
Pure Storage acknowledges that a subscription-first approach may result in lower short-term revenue compared to traditional hardware sales. The company is prepared for a future where subscription models dominate, confident in the value they offer customers and investors alike. Navonne stressed the importance of continuously delivering value to customers to ensure retention and satisfaction in a subscription-based business model.