August 4, 2005

Be Careful: Choosing A Vendor For Your Business

Choosing a technology consultant to work with you is important, but it's equally important to select a good technology vendor who can work closely with you as well.

Anti-virus products - do you work with Symantec or McAfee? PC's - Dell or Lenovo?

SearchSMB.com writes Donna Cottrell, a chief of information systems division for the U.S. Coast Guard, in Elizabeth City, N.C., has learned through experience to err on the side of caution when dealing with IT vendors. In one project, Cottrell noted that instead of the vendor acknowledging that it wasn't going well, "they offered me some pie in the sky solution," she said. "Even me, not a techie, said, 'You can't say that!'" So Cottrell took her technical staff with her to see the vendor as a group. She presented the problem to the vendor and asked them what they'd do. "The vendor finally admitted [their mistake], once they got their technical people involved," Cottrell said.

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