7 October, 2025

5 reasons why (Storage) as-a-Service IS NOT  all about Opex vs. Capex

5 reasons why (Storage) as-a-Service IS NOT  all about Opex vs. Capex

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You’re thinking about Storage-aaS all wrong

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Stop comparing Storage-aaS and Capex you fool!

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Storage-aaS – It’s not (just) about the way you pay for it…

While I appreciate that many organisations are still very early in their consumption of ‘services’ vs what they’re more used to (which is the legacy approach of ‘ownership’)  –  they still try to make direct cost comparisons, in particular over the capex vs opex debate.  BUT –  you can’t always do that, and the reasoning is very similar to why you pay for your music subscription these days, rather than buying CD’s – and yes, I like many of you will have bookcases and boxes stacked with hundreds of CD’s (and DVD’s) that never get played! Now, you listen to whatever you like, however often you like, wherever you like, in return for a small monthly subscription.

  1. “The Next Guys Problem” you’re the hero today, you drove a hard bargain, got the lowest cost, but all you’ve done is kick the problem down the road and handcuffed your successors with Tech Debt. Capex tends to be a fixed and rigid solution to today’s requirements, and what you think or project tomorrow’s requirements will be too. Acquisitions, divestitures, business growth, business contraction, global pandemic, a war in Europe?   PS – ‘tomorrow’ is usually the next 4-6 years – so let us all share your crystal ball when you’re done with it please 😉
  2. Capex can be uninspiring and pins you to today’s technology. With the exception of Pure’s Evergreen program, most capex purchases will stifle your ability to innovate and leverage new tech  in the future.  Revolutions in the technology business happen far more often than your 5 year refresh cycle.  Wouldn’t you be gutted if your vendor released a great new feature that your business needs, right after you made your purchase?
  3. Capex can be an ESG nightmare – most capex purchases will require you to contribute to the global tech junk pile in four or five years time, putting huge pressure on resources for precious metals, components, and logistics. True ‘as-a-service’ offerings are the kings of efficiency and re-use. Modular upgrades rather than forklift box changes ease mining, manufacturing, and the supply chain with a corresponding reduction in environmental impact.  Companies that deliver much of their value through software innovation and excellence as well as their hardware, will deliver more sustainable platforms with a longer life than those that rely on bigger more powerful boxes instead.
  4. Capex gives you dog legged investments, even with pay-as-you-grow solutions, which interestingly don’t save-as-you-shrink!! Capacity expansions, performance upgrades, additional sites / DC’s – are rarely ever good subsequent value vs their up front purchases, forcing you to oversize and over-spec instead.  When you require small increments of storage, or need a little capacity at a few new sites, you often have to buy entire arrays with minimum configs, and will have spoiled your anticipated refresh cycle timing.
  5. And my last but most important difference… the clues in the title – Service. When I say ‘service’ – I don’t mean just a warranty and maintenance contract, I mean Capacity Management, Performance Monitoring, Business Critical Services (BCS), Designated Support Engineers (DSE), consumption analytics, SLA’s, account management and more.

Footnote:  To be clear; I draw no distinction here between a capex purchase and a capex lease….  True ”aaS” offerings are NOT leases.  You don’t own the equipment, neither does a lease or finance company.

Summary:  If you are trying to compare a capex offer vs an as-a-service offer, be sure to consider the value in the latter, rather than just the modelled cost.  Be sure to understand the implication of a fixed and rigid solution and that some ‘value’ is hard to put a $ amount on.  Think back to how your business responded to the changes brought about by the covid-19 pandemic, think about how you have adapted to a war in Europe and how that’s effected your costs, logistics and workforce.

However, if you can accurately predict your business and the global economy for the next 5 years, then do me a solid and DM me next week’s lotto numbers pretty please…🙏

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