I’ve finally managed to get my own domain called rizwandean.com. I’ve been putting this task off for some time and it’s finally reached a point where I think that having my own domain can be quite useful. It took me the greater part of today to get all the materials ported across from my old WordPress site and into this one but I’m happy that the task is finally over. I intend to keep the current layout (as you can see) but over time I may change this to something a little more appealing depending on my mood. The current theme and layout was selected and customized as I watched the Blair Witch Project (it helps put things into perspective) and multi-tasked with migration of old articles and also trying to read one of my favorite online magazines. The task eventually ended at around 12PM – a mere four hours worth of work. One of the new features that I’ll really be putting to use over time is the Twitter widget located on the sidebar and I think it may allow me to post “mini-blogs” whenever I think that one is necessary. Other than that, I will try to keep writing as much as possible.

I spent a fair bit of time working on creating a matrix which will help me decide when making choices between vendors. For example, if I were to buy servers, having a matrix into one which you simply throw in the right data can be helpful in making the picture clearer. I’ve attached a sample of what I’m currently working on to give you an idea. Sometimes when you’re making purchases, particularly BT related ones, after sales support and warranty coverage can often mean a great deal more than worrying about the initial purchase price. My view has always been that if you have to pay a little more to get a solid after sales support and technical assistance, the initial price is worth it. Vendors all too often like to sell you something with little or no mention about after sales support. Sure, the vendor may sound like he or she knows the entire lingo in the dictionary, but can they be there to help you when you really need them? Will they be prepared to dispatch a technical support agent in the middle of the night when one of the blade servers fails because of a faulty RAID card? Sometimes most vendors will try to side skirt these issues during their presentations and gloss over how good they are at proving a low cost solution for a high quality product. They will go to the extent to tell you that they will provide a solid after sales support team and you can call them anytime during work hours and someone will come to your assistance – wait, anytime during work hours? What if you want to call them anytime after work hours? Will someone respond on the other end of the mobile or will it be diverted? These are often things we miss in the heat of the moment and this is why it is important to ensure that when a potential vendor speaks, you listen very carefully. If you agree to purchase the product, get your vendors to sign an agreement stating they will be available at any point in time to provide support and also create support levels and priorities for each possible scenario. Having something as small as a KVM switch failure does not necessarily constitute a global calamity. These are things which can wait until the next day. A critical blade server failure however must be attended to immediately to prevent maximum business loss the next day. Your potential vendor must be aware of the seriousness of your organizations business and should have spares available in stock and ready to be delivered in less than 12 hours. Anything above and beyond this period should be a management decision and agreed upon by all parties.

In addition to the above prudence’s, another area of importance I feel when it comes to making important BP related purchases is the vendor’s reputation. I’ve often had vendors call me up telling me that they like doing things differently from other companies and their methods are cutting edge. When someone tells me they’re doing things a little too differently, I begin to wonder why on earth someone would go around trying to change something that’s been working perfectly all the time. Vendors who tell you such things will often give glowing references regarding their work and also drop a few big name companies just to impress you. If you’re a real BT Professional, you will definitely disregard such influences. Instead, it is never a bad idea to note the reference sites being mentioned and always check up with these sites later on to verify the claim. If your vendor is trying to sell you a million dollar piece of hardware and has only been selling mice and keyboards to big named companies, you can easily work out that your vendor is lying to you. Comparing apples to apples is the integral part of the decision making process and ensuring that the reference sites are willing to work with the vendor in the future can make all the difference. Reference sites must be willing to work with the vendor in the future and if your vendor has managed to secure a job only once with an organization, there must be a definite reason why the organization is unwilling to risk taking on the vendor again – once bitten, twice shy.

Another key area that any good professional will always look for is experience. I am constantly amazed at the number of ICT based organizations sprouting in Fiji claiming to hold the partnering rights with big brand names such as IBM and HP. These new born ICT organizations have barely secured any big projects let alone managed to sell a server yet have the unique ability to secure partnership deals with big brand hardware and software vendors. This is probably why it is always a safe bet to place more emphasis on a tried and trusted vendor then putting your faith in a new vendor who is probably more interested in using your organization as a guinea pig. If you’re serious about your organization and ensuring business continuity, always ensure that your choice of vendor has been around for at least three years or more and has deployed medium to large scale projects successfully with minimum fuss. Your choice of vendor should also have deployed no less than six medium sized projects (<$100K) and no less than three large scaled projects (>$500K) – note that these values are more or less aligned with the climate in Fiji and our perception of medium and large scale projects. Using such benchmarks ensures that your vendor has sufficient technical and project management staff on hand who can handle projects of any size.

The last thing that I always believe is critical is defining who’s who. Your vendor is not your client – you are which means you’re the one writing the cheques at the end of the day. Do not let your vendor push you around with project timelines. Define the rules and project goals before signing any committal documents and ensure that your vendor understands the risks of delays. I always feel it is a good idea to tell the vendor that payment will be paid in smaller chunks as the project progresses as it will ensure the vendor understands who’s really holding the keys to the golden crapper. In addition to the ensuring project succession, paying out in smaller chunks gives you an opportunity to gauge whether or not your vendor has the financial resources to take on larger projects and other projects without requiring too much initial investment from the client. If your vendor cries out that he needs the payment upfront before making any commitments, shake hands and bid him goodbye because he probably didn’t have the money to make the deal in the first place and will do everything to skimp off on the agreed products and quality standards initially agreed to. Get a vendor who has the financial resourced to deliver the products proudly, commission the hardware, provide the technical training, provide after sales support and come around later to discuss payment only after he’s ensured that you have no outstanding issues with the project. If you choose to play the role of a submissive client, then your vendor will happily trample over you and vanish into the sunset after a project with nary a look back – be decisive and firm.

Have a great week.

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