Updated 12 October 2026
C4C is an official Dell Technologies partner. Our founders, Nick Watson and Paul Smith, each spent over a decade at EMC, which Dell later bought, selling enterprise arrays to finance, banking and telcos. We supply and implement Dell storage, plan the refresh or migration, and give you an honest view of where Dell fits and where it does not.
Who we are
Nick Watson, our Chief Technologist, and Paul Smith, our Chief Commercial Officer, each spent over a decade at EMC selling enterprise storage arrays into finance, banking and telecoms. Dell bought EMC, and much of today’s Dell storage portfolio carries that lineage.
That means we know how these arrays are designed, how they are sized, how the quotes are built and where the room to move is. We now use that on the customer’s side of the table.
What we supply
Dell’s unified midrange array for block and file. The default for most consolidation and refresh projects, sized to your real workload rather than the biggest model.
Dell’s high end array for the most demanding, mission critical block workloads. Right where availability and scale justify it, and not otherwise.
Scale out file storage, the successor to Isilon, for large unstructured data, analytics and media estates.
Protection storage and backup appliances, designed alongside your backup software and your ransomware recovery plan.
Compute for refreshes and new platforms, right sized and timed against your storage and licensing decisions.
Unity is being succeeded by PowerStore. We plan the move off Unity, VNX and other older EMC arrays on your timeline.
Buying through C4C
Migrations and refreshes
Most of the risk in a storage project sits in the move, not the box. We plan the data, the protocols, the cutover windows and the rollback before anything is ordered, and we time the refresh against your support end dates rather than letting them force a rushed decision. The work is done by us, by Dell professional services, or by a mix of Dell, C4C and your own team, whichever gives you the best result for the risk and the cost.
Our guides set out how we think about it: enterprise storage migration, what a migration really costs and refresh and end of life decisions.
Support
We support you throughout: technical advice, design questions, upgrades and help whenever you need it. Hardware break fix support comes from Dell, as is normal for enterprise storage, and that is usually the right answer while an array is in its supported life. For arrays nearing the end of their supported life, third party maintenance can extend them for a while at lower cost, with real trade offs: no new firmware or features, and a different escalation path when something serious goes wrong. We talk you through the pros and cons honestly and help you decide whether to extend, refresh or migrate.
Independence
We partner with NetApp, HPE and VAST Data as well as Dell, and we are tied to none. If NetApp suits a hybrid cloud estate better, if a simpler array fits your team, or if staying on what you have for another year is the right call, we will say so. Our comparisons show how we think: Dell vs NetApp vs Pure Storage and PowerStore vs PowerMax vs Unity.
Ways to start
A structured look at your Dell and EMC estate: support end dates, capacity headroom, data reduction actually achieved, firmware currency and where the next twelve months of risk and cost sit. You leave with a plain list of what to do and when.
Book this →For an array approaching end of support: the realistic options, from refresh to PowerStore or PowerScale, to another platform, to bridging with third party maintenance, and a migration approach and timeline you can take to the board.
Book this →Before you renew Dell support or a storage subscription: whether the term and coverage still fit how you use the array, what you are paying for and not using, and what is worth negotiating.
Book this →Guides and resources
Refresh or renewal coming up?
Whether it is a refresh, a migration off older arrays or a support renewal, we will give you an honest view and a like for like comparison quote, so you know the price is right whether you buy through us or not. No need to share the quote you have been sent.
Prefer email? Write to us at hello@c4cgroup.co.uk.
Questions
Look for four things. An official partnership, so they can supply Dell directly. Real storage depth, not just a reseller price list. The ability to plan and run the migration, alone or with Dell professional services. And independence, meaning a partner who will tell you when another platform or staying put is the better answer. C4C is an official Dell Technologies partner run by people who spent over a decade at EMC selling enterprise arrays.
Yes. C4C Group is an official Dell Technologies partner, so we can supply and implement Dell storage, data protection and servers, not only advise on them. We also partner with NetApp, HPE and VAST Data and are tied to none, so our recommendation follows your workloads.
Yes, in the way that matters day to day: technical advice, design and upgrade questions, and help whenever you need it, through the project and beyond. Hardware break fix support comes from Dell, as is normal for enterprise storage. We make sure the Dell support you buy matches the array and the term you need, and help again at renewal or refresh.
Yes. We implement and migrate ourselves, use Dell professional services, or combine Dell, C4C and your own team, whichever is best for the risk, the timeline and the cost. We plan the cutover so production keeps running.
Yes. Moving off Unity, VNX, Isilon and other older EMC arrays to PowerStore, PowerScale or another platform is work we know from the inside. The right route depends on the data, the protocols and the downtime you can accept, and we plan it on your timeline rather than the support end date.
It can be. For an array nearing the end of its supported life, third party maintenance can extend it at lower cost while you plan a refresh. The trade offs are real: no new firmware or features, and a different escalation path for serious faults. We talk through the pros and cons honestly so you can decide whether to extend, refresh or migrate.
Yes. We will quote your Dell refresh or renewal like for like and check the capacity and configuration still fit how you use it, so you know the price is right whether you buy through us or not. There is no need to share the quote you have been sent.
No. We partner with NetApp, HPE and VAST Data as well as Dell, and we are tied to none. If another platform, or staying on what you have, is the better answer for your estate, we will say so.