I've had the privilege of working with a number of Cisco partners on SmartNet, and it was labor intensive with all of them. Cisco's smartnet management isn't the best, so it gets complicated when you have a number of contracts to deal with. Several years ago, we prorated a bunch of contracts so that they'd align on the same date. That makes it a lot easier, but it still takes time to look at every SKU and decide if you still want it or not. As for price - Since you are an EDU, it's unlikely that you'll see much price difference unless you're willing to establish a multi-year contract. EDU discount starts at 30% off, and there isn't much margin left to discount. If you opt for a multi-year, additional discounts are possible - it requires Cisco to be involved, and once they are, that discount applies to any Cicso partner. If multi-year is difficult budget-wise, you can often finance it via Cisco capital at near zero interest. Get a three year smartnet, finance it with Cisco, and make three payments (1 per year). I can tell you that the multi-year discounts are significant, especially if you go beyond three years. And on a side note - Make sure to watch the renewal costs for the wireless controllers. Last year, Cisco discontinued the smartnet on AP's, but added the support costs to the controllers. Public sector (EDU) seldom put but 1-2 AP's on smartnet, so the cost shift to the controllers is significant. Public sector established a special SKU that triggers a discount back to the old price. Make sure your Cisco sales team is involved so that you get the old price. best, Jeff
>>> On Wednesday, October 01, 2014 at 11:56 AM, in message >>> <[email protected]>, Peter P >>> Morrissey <[email protected]> wrote: We are looking for another Smartnet vendor for our Cisco wired and wireless gear. Obviously cost is a big issue, but our current vendor is costing us quite a bit in labor, working through the confusion of our annual renewal process. The above vendors have been suggested for alternative bids. We are required to, and certainly prefer to choose low bid, unless we can provide justification. So any information would be appreciated. Please feel free to share off list if you must, but I would encourage you to share with the list as we all desire to be empowered with the ability to make good decisions. Thanks, Pete Morrissey ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
