How Do You Select A Computing Systems Vendor?
Surveys have indicated that over 75% of companies with personal computers have:
• Selected the wrong equipment
• Failed to use them in a way that justifies their cost
• Paid too much for them
To avoid becoming a victim of one of the above, consider the following:
1. Don't make these mistakes.
• Not doing your homework (Check references -- do you really want to put the fate of your project or company in the hands of a computer salesman?)
• Ignoring hidden costs (Installation/configuration fees, support fees ... )
• Bigger is better, right? (Can a big out-of-state mail-order vendor properly support you and your organization? More about this below.)
2. Think about why you are where you are now.
Are you happy with your current vendor? Have you already outgrown the equipment you bought six months ago? Did your vendor not discuss your need for upgradability with you? Can the systems you bought for a Windows project be recycled into your next Linux project (i.e. "what do you mean there's no Linux driver for that video card?!?")?
Are you and your vendor on the same page when it comes to "who is responsible for what?"
Over the years, we have seen two different attitudes regarding choosing a partner for computing systems:
1) Abdication of responsibility, and 2) Making the decision in a vacuum.
Abdication of Responsibility
Those who take this approach may feel they know nothing about computers and can never learn enough to make an intelligent decision. Perhaps they are afraid of showing their lack of knowledge, or of being responsible for a poor decision. They abdicate all responsibility and leave all aspects of the decision in the hands of the computer vendor and their junior staff. This approach can be summarized by the following line from an old song:
"Once the missiles go up,
who cares where they come down?
That's not my department,
says Werner Von Braun."
This approach often results in selecting the wrong systems from the wrong vendor. It also reduces the probability of a successful and timely implementation to almost zero.
Making The Decision In A Vacuum
If you have a degree in computer science, have worked in the computer industry for years, and have worked with a variety of hardware and software platforms, you may be qualified to make the computer decision without any outside help. Unfortunately, most people are too busy doing the jobs for which they were hired to develop and maintain this expertise over the years.
If you have been reading all of the computer magazines, go to trade shows and seminars and think you know a lot, you are a prime candidate for a computer salesperson who needs to meet his or her quota for the month by moving some equipment.
What is the appropriate type of involvement you should have in the computer system/vendor selection process?
The answer is simple: Stick with what you know.
You should know about your business or project, the type of information which you need to run it, the capabilities of your staff, and how much money you have to spend. It is your responsibility to define your information priorities and to define your business needs in clear, specific terms in the form of a functional specification for a computer system (or an entire project). This process requires little actual technical knowledge. You may be able to do it yourself or you may prefer to benefit from the assistance of a vendor who knows something about how your business works and how systems work best in a variety of environments. Our specialty happens to be engineering labs, largely as a result of working daily as a partner with Cisco Systems for many years. Consequently, we are very experienced in lab environments.
Your challenge, then, is to find an independent system vendor whom you can trust, who is technically competent and who understands the complexities of your environment. In selecting your vendor, you would use traditional non-technical techniques: ask for references, check backgrounds, ask your friends and colleagues, and see how well you communicate and work together.
In an era when the term is greatly overused, we understand the meaning of the term "partner". The bottom line is: We understand that we are jointly responsible for your success and we do everything in our power to help you succeed.
3. Set the right expectations.
The proper expectations are essential for any successful relationship. Expectations that are too high will result in frustration and disappointment while those that are too low will result in not realizing the potential that a really good vendor can offer.
We firmly believe that the difference between an outstanding partner and a mediocre (or worse) one is their service. Everyone talks about service these days but what kind of service are you receiving from your current system vendor?
• Do they consult with you on projects without charging you some kind of fee?
• Does shipping systems to your dock mean the end of their involvement and interest or will they come on site and help install and set up? (We recently delivered, installed, cabled and set up 200 of our rackmounted Eclipse PCs and Solar Eclipse Sparc servers for a Cisco project, freeing their engineers to do other, more productive things with their time.
• How does your current vendor handle service issues? Can they send a company employee on site within a matter of minutes or is that contracted out to a dispassionate third party? Worse, do you have to install a replacement part they shipped to you that may or may not solve the problem?
• How does your vendor handle parts that go bad during your warranty period? Do you get an advanced replacement? Downtime is expensive - don't you think you should?
There's a hot new widget on the market and you need it integrated into your next order of 50 systems. You know the part is available but your current vendor can't get it for you because it's not in their catalog. What do you do? Buy them and install them yourself? Do you have that kind of time? Shouldn't you have a vendor that will do it for you?
Don't set the bar too low. Expect more from your vendor.
4. Define your goals.
The goals of buying computer equipment are:
• Selecting the right equipment for the job
• Selecting a vendor who can support a wide variety of hardware and software
• Getting maximum value from the purchase (lowest price is usually not the best deal)
If your current vendor hasn't helped you meet these goals, perhaps you should ask yourself some questions:
• Assuming your company and needs are growing, will your current vendor be able to keep up with your volume?
• As your needs change and diversify, will your current vendor be able to meet those requirements?
• If your experience has not been satisfactory, do you really want to continue the relationship and prolong the agony?
If you don't do your homework and ask your vendor (and yourself) some serious, relevant questions you stand a very good chance of being stuck with whatever is providing the highest profit margin or commission at the time, which might well be an obsolete or inadequate system.
5. Select your partner.
Vendors and Users -- Friends or Foes?
Given the poor decisions many people seem to make when buying computers, a logical question to ask is whether the interests of computer vendors and users are aligned or totally opposite.
The big computer manufacturers are interested in continuously selling you new equipment, and in preventing you from using other vendors' parts in their computers. They also tend to divide up the market in ways which are useful to them and which make them as much money as possible in the short term. Users, on the other hand, would like to have a system which can expand as their needs change, is easy to use, is compatible with parts and peripherals from a wide range of vendors and is competitively priced.
How would you best characterize your relationship with your current vendor?
• My vendor is my friend
• My vendor is my enemy
• My vendor and I are a team
Many system vendors follow the retail model of selling computer equipment, in which the tangible part of a system is emphasized and the name of the game is to move inventory and earn commissions. Consequently, the selection of a vendor who will have your best interests at heart is not a trivial matter. Your best bet is to find someone who is independent, who has business as well as technical knowledge, and who can offer you a total solution (as opposed to just "slinging" you boxes). One way you can recognize this person is that they will offer to stay with you throughout the entire selection and implementation process (rather than just shipping your systems to receiving and then disappearing while waiting for your next order).
Choosing a vendor you can live with is of paramount importance. You will work together as a team during the process of choosing the operating system and other software, choosing the right equipment on which to run them (note the order of the selection process) and then implementing it all in your company or project. You will be responsible for the business issues and your vendor will be responsible for the technical issues. Your vendor cannot possibly know all that you know about your business, and you will not be as knowledgeable technically as your vendor (if you are, though, you might want to keep looking -- what added value are they bringing to the table?)
It is difficult to overestimate the added value and benefits that you can obtain by working with somebody who will assume responsibility for your systems, from selection through implementation through the life of the warranty. Never, ever forget the importance of service after the sale. We don't!
In your initial appointments with prospective new vendors, you should qualify them using a checklist such as the following:
POTENTIAL VENDOR QUESTIONNAIRE
1) Is the vendor independent (i.e., do they carry more than one brand of hardware)? If not, you may be painting yourself into a corner. As an example, not all computer brands play well in lab environments. Think "open standards".
2) Does the vendor spend most of the time listening and asking you questions about your business? This question separates the true sales professionals from the "box slingers". A vendor cannot possibly recommend appropriate equipment for you without finding out about your business or project.
3) Does the vendor know something about business in general and about your type of business in particular? Vendors who want to sell to engineers and into lab environments who aren't familiar with them are dangerous. A vendor who is familiar with your industry and way of life is a definite asset.
4) Do you think that you can work and communicate well with this vendor? Remember, you are getting married; you're not out for a one night stand. If all goes well, you will be working with this vendor for years.
Are we talking about you? Give us a call today: (650) 810-1440 |
