Familiarizing Your Admins with New Hardware?

HCIGuy asks: "I'm the technical communications manager for a company that sells and implements infrastructure for data centers. We often put in equipment and software that substantially change the environment, such as high availability clusters and enterprise data management. We've known for a long time that the critical post-engagement time for admins was one to six months, after which, even without help, admins are usually comfortable with the new stuff. We're concerned with those first few months, and asking both ourselves and the universe of admins what would help during that time. We already provide system configuration manuals, and of course there are manuals and training classes provided by manufacturers. But what else would help an admin during the "break-in" period? What's been of the greatest help in the past? What would be on your wish list?"