APEX Navigator for
Multicloud Storage
Building a new product from scratch — and making complex cloud infrastructure simple enough to trust.
My role
Product Designer
Timeline
1 years · 2022
Platform
Dell APEX / Premier
Launched
Nov 30, 2023 · Shown at Dell Technologies World and AWS re:Invent
Project overview
Dell's first APEX Navigator management product
I designed the setup steps, the visual map of the system, and one shared prototype that kept the team aligned from first draft to launch. Over the year I became the go-to designer for APEX patterns.
Final design
Deployment
Product selection
Block and File storage sit at the top as two large cards, because that choice changes everything after it. Under them are only three fields: version, cloud provider, and region. Everything else waits for a later step, so the first screen never asks for a decision the user has not made yet.
Cloud access
AWS makes you set up credentials by hand, copying values between two systems. It can't be automated. Showing all the instructions at once tested as too much, even for engineers, so each field has its own "Where do I find this?" link that opens only what that field needs. Copy buttons sit next to the policies so nobody has to select the text by hand. On the right, a summary card shows what you're building and the estimated cost while you work.
Deployment configuration
Settings run in order from broad to specific: storage performance first, then capacity and IOPS, then availability, then networking. The right side holds a live summary. As you enter your minimum capacity and IOPS, it works out the smallest AWS setup that meets them and shows those numbers. It sits beside the form, not on a later screen, so the cost is visible while you are still choosing.
Final design
Management
These screens are for people running the system day to day. The system is four or more levels deep, so every screen had to show two things at once: how the parts connect, and whether each one is healthy.
Deployment list
One table covers AWS and Azure together. Health is a colored dot in the first column, so the state of everything reads in a single pass down the left edge. Capacity and group sit on the same row. Checking status is the most common task here, and opening a row to do it would be paid for many times a day.
Deployment details
The system is four or more levels deep. A table would make you rebuild that structure in your head while something is broken. Setup sits on the left and health on the right, so what a deployment is and how it is doing are read side by side instead of one after the other. Links to PowerFlex Manager and CloudIQ sit inside the health panel, next to the numbers they explain, rather than copying those tools into this page.
Cloud access management
AWS, Azure, and GCP handle credentials differently. One shared table would have meant cutting the fields down to what all three had in common. Tabs across the top keep each provider's own fields and leave a slot for providers that had not launched yet. Account groups sit in a searchable table below, with the add button at the top right of that table.
Final design
Data mobility
Mobility
Most migration screens list source and target as two columns and leave you to work out which way the data moves. Here an arrow runs from source to target on every row, so the direction is read rather than guessed. Tabs at the top split Volume, Application, and File groups. "Create mobility group" sits on the page at the top right instead of inside a menu, because it is the reason people open this screen.
Group overview
During a migration people want two things: is it running, and how far along is it. Both sit at the top of the page, next to a diagram of the path the data takes from on-premises to cloud to clone sets. Transfer method, location, and the rest sit underneath, so the answer comes first and the supporting detail second.
Clone sets
Making clones is repetitive work, so a separate screen for each one adds up. "Create clone" sits on the table itself. The table shows clone name, image time, and mapping status, which are the three things people check before using a clone, and mappings stay editable in the detail view.
Impact
Launched Nov 30, 2023, and shown on two keynote stages
APEX Navigator for Multicloud Storage launched November 30, 2023, available in the US that December. It was announced at Dell Technologies World 2023 and shown at AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas.
Defined the core UX patterns for a brand-new multicloud product.
Made complex setup understandable by breaking it into clear, guided steps.
Made system structure readable at a glance through the visual map.
Kept product, engineering, and leadership aligned with one shared prototype.
Cut repeated clarification back-and-forth by making the prototype the single reference.
Left behind reusable patterns that shaped later multicloud work.
RECOGNITION
Named the prototype owner, and awarded Game Changer 2
"Many, many teams have come to rely on the Cirrus prototype as the source of truth for what the Cirrus experience will be. He's the Figma master, and the UX Cirrus team wouldn't have been able to deliver as swiftly or as well without his incredible skills in design and management."
Maggie Harney · Cirrus prototype recognition
"You consistently delivered quality work, on time, and never let ambiguous direction or requirements stop you from designing an excellent user experience for Multicloud customers."
Kathryn Ward (Manager) · Game Changer 2 Award — APEX Navigator for Multicloud Storage
"Min worked meticulously and tirelessly on the Figma prototypes that were absolutely essential for the DTW Day 2 APEX keynote demo. Without Min's help we would not have gotten the work done in the extremely short timespan that was required."
David O'Dell · Dell Tech World keynote recognition
WHAT I LEARNED
The hand-built prototype aligned everyone, but it didn't scale
Every team relied on the prototype, and directors asked me to build the same for their projects. I said no — not because I couldn't, but because it ran on my hours. Hundreds of connected wireframes meant most of my days went to keeping it working. It held the team together, but the same result shouldn't depend on one person maintaining a giant machine by hand. Next time, I'd stop at "real enough" instead of polishing forever.