Apex Navigatorfor Multicloud
Designing a new cloud management platform to simplify deployment, monitoring, and mobility for hybrid storage
Background
Dell APEX Navigator for Multicloud (AWS) provides a comprehensive management platform for hybrid cloud storage. It streamlines deployment, centralizes management, and enables seamless data mobility across AWS and on-premises environments.
As one of UX designers on the founding design team, I helped shape the product’s initial user experience — from defining the deployment flow to prototyping management and monitoring features. Our goal was to make complex cloud operations intuitive and scalable within a unified interface.
Challenge
This was a zero-to-one design initiative
There were only few existing patterns or legacy frameworks to rely on. The challenge was to translate highly technical storage operations into a clear, predictable, and scalable user experience.
My role & Process
I collaborated with PMs and engineers to:
Map user workflows for deployment, monitoring, and migration scenarios.
Define hierarchy and navigation to reduce cognitive load and surface key information at the right moment.
Prototype complex system states to visualize setup progress, performance metrics, and error handling.
Apply and extend Dell’s SaaS Design Library, ensuring design alignment across other APEX and Navigator products.
Maintain a large, version-controlled Figma file, which became a central reference for engineers, PMs, and QA teams.
Design Direction
Bring simplicity to three major multicloud experience
Deployment
Automated and guided setup workflows reduced manual configuration steps. Inline validation and contextual tips helped users complete tasks with confidence
Management
A unified interface presented performance, health, and capacity metrics in one centralized view. This provided a clear “single pane of glass” for storage monitoring and optimization
Mobility
Data migration features supported seamless movement between on-premises and cloud environments, enhancing flexibility and scalability
Final Design
Deployment — Simplifying complex setup
The deployment journey was designed to balance technical depth with guided clarity. Each step surfaces only what’s needed at the right time — helping users deploy storage on AWS confidently
Product Selection — Guided Start
I focused on clarity and progressive disclosure — surfacing only the key decisions (product type, provider, region) while keeping the interface visually light. Each option uses visual cards to help users quickly distinguish between Block Storage and File Storage, reducing decision friction.
Cloud Access — Secure Connection
The process involves complex technical inputs (Role ARN, trust policies), so I used progressive instructions, collapsible help text, and inline copy functions to make it non-intimidating. Clear instructional microcopy (“Where do I find this?”) anticipates user confusion and prevents context switching
Deployment Configuration — Resource Setup
The form is organized into clear groups (Basics, Performance, Availability, Networking) with inline help and sensible defaults. As users enter values, it calculates the minimum required AWS infrastructure so expectations are set before provisioning.
Management — Centralized visibility and control
Cloud Deployment List — Monitoring across environments
Cloud deployment list provides a consolidated view of all active deployments across AWS and Azure.
Designed a status-driven table with color-coded health indicators to help ITOps users quickly assess system performance.
Included capacity metrics and group details inline for faster scanning without needing drill-downs.
Supported both system-level and cloud-access views, offering flexibility for different user roles.
Deployment Details —
End-to-end Configuration insight
This page displays detailed configuration and health information for each deployment.
Organized layout into two primary areas: system configuration (storage, region, IOPS, capacity) and real-time health monitoring.
Integrated external navigation to PowerFlex Manager and CloudIQ for deeper analytics, maintaining continuity between Dell platforms.
Added mobility section to support cloning and data movement actions directly from the same interface.
Cloud Access Management — Credential oversight made simple
This allows admins to view and manage connected cloud credentials (AWS, Azure, GCP).
Used a tabbed layout to segment cloud providers and keep the interface scalable for future integrations.
Presented account groups and permission details in a lightweight, searchable table.
Clear labeling ensures administrators understand which accounts are shared organization-wide.
Data mobility — Data movement simplified
Mobility — Centralized view of data movement
Mobility page acts as the entry point for managing all volume, application, and file mobility operations
Tabbed navigation for multi-type mobility groups (Volume, Application, File).
Simple table layout summarizing source, target, job status, and clone counts.
Visual source-to-target flow arrows help users instantly understand migration direction.
“Create mobility group” CTA promotes a clear next step for initiating new data movement.
Group Overview — Visualizing data flow across environments
It gives users a high-level overview of data transfer between source (on-premises) and target (cloud) systems.
A visual flow diagram shows the end-to-end path from source → target → clone sets.
Summarized transfer and method details (snapshot shipping, transfer limit) appear upfront to communicate progress context.
Management — Centralized visibility and control
It gives users a high-level overview of data transfer between source (on-premises) and target (cloud) systems.
A visual flow diagram shows the end-to-end path from source → target → clone sets.
Summarized transfer and method details (snapshot shipping, transfer limit) appear upfront to communicate progress context.
Target Details — Visibility into transfer performance
This page displays the technical details of the active or completed transfer.
Structured layout highlights duration, size, and method for transparency in job tracking.
Presents target copy metrics (size, pool, performance domain) with clear labeling.
Retains consistent visual flow to minimize cognitive load during troubleshooting.
Clone Sets — Managing multiple replication points
Lists all available clones created from a source group for testing or backup.
Clean tabular structure with sortable fields for clone name, image time, and mapping status.
Inline “Create clone” button allows initiating new copies without leaving context.
Clone Details — Deep dive into replication status
Offers a detailed view of individual clone performance and health.
Retains top-level flow (Source → Target → Clone) while expanding clone-specific metrics (status, mappings, volumes).
Introduced editable mappings to simplify volume association updates.
Impact
Delivered the first end-to-end user experience for deploying and managing Dell storage on AWS.
Improved visibility and user confidence through guided flows and real-time feedback.
Enabled cross-functional collaboration by maintaining an accessible, versioned design file.
Established a UX foundation that was later extended to future APEX integrations, including Azure.
Received strong internal feedback for design clarity and prototype quality.