On Apr 2, 2006, at 9:50 PM, Timothy Sipples wrote:
I was asked to find out whether there exist z/OS based products
from IBM
or 3rd parties that provide similar content & functionality.
Yes, reasonable priced. Tell us what products do you want to replace.
BTW: From my experience it is often enough to find an alternative
product and tell about it to your current supplier. The prices can
shrink dramatically.
I respectfully disagree that telling a current supplier is often
enough.
It might be on one occasion (might), but it's not a strategy likely to
work the next time around. And some suppliers are very good at
making you
think you've got a "dramatically" lower price -- because their
original
quoted price is dramatically ridiculous. Also, the terms and
conditions,
most particularly the price attached to growth, are critical.
There's a
growing trend -- just look at the airline industry -- to obfuscate
price
through bewildering terms and conditions.
Receiving a fair price on any product requires a *credible* market
alternative in *your* particular situation. Things that bring
credibility
to the discussion:
Timothy:
This was(is?) true of a current big name vendor .. at least a few
time the company was offered a product at extremely bargain basement
prices. Ahh.. where is the catch.. if you do any upgrades of Hardware
you get socked MAJOR $$ (another nail in the coffin for MF's).
This has been discussed on here before about the bait and switch
tactics of sales types.
- a project actually underway to switch from one vendor to another
- past, recent defection to another vendor
- respect for functional innovation (i.e. that you care about
value, not
just price)
- knowledge about the product, the vendor's business, your business
requirements, etc.
- seriousness (e.g. a long term commitment, growth)
- timeliness
Timeliness means you should be having this discussion about 12 to 16
months before your contract renewal.
Here's where you can start within the halls of IBM:
http://www.ibm.com/software/solutions/softwaremigration/sps.html
But the above advice applies regardless of vendor.
- - - - -
Timothy F. Sipples
Consulting Enterprise Software Architect, z9/zSeries
IBM Japan, Ltd.
E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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