Apples for Apples – Solution Sourcing Considerations

Within the wide and varied array of hardware and software options that exist in the market today to fulfil your IT needs it is important that when shopping around and comparing price you compare ‘Apples for Apples’. But how do you do that with all the technical babble that exists and the complicated format in which quotations are provided and sales people speak?

Below are a few simple tips to help you achieve that true comparison.

1. Determine what you require in the solution.

Although it may be difficult to know what you actually need in a solution, by speaking with various industry representatives and other industry relevant people, such as people from another school, library or business, you will be able to gain an understanding of what is out there and what you believe will suit your needs.

1. List all your needs and wants and ensure needs are met first.

Often customers will be talked into something they want rather than what they actually need and as a result the needs are not met and the solution provided is not satisfactory. This usually comes at a higher cost to the purchaser as they end up with items that they thought they wanted initially (or were talked into) but now have to add on to this and get the components that are needed at an extra cost (if they can even be provided by the same supplier).

1. Look beyond initial purchase costs.

Dependent on how the solution cost is presented to you there may be underlying costs associated with the purchase such as ongoing hardware maintenance, software support costs, annual licencing costs, implementation costs, upgrade costs and the list could go on.

These ongoing costs are often hidden further on in the solution presentation (or not listed at all) and it is not until you get other invoices on top of your initial purchase or have to ‘pay extra for that service’,  that you realise you have actually ended up paying more for a solution than you were initially led to believe.

The best way to overcome this is to set a period that you want the solution to be covered for and then ensure that the price given is inclusive of the ongoing costs such as those listed above.

1. Other important factors (wants).

What other influences will impact your decision but cannot be covered as a cost of the solution? Consider such things as:

-        Can the solution be expanded to grow with your organisation or will this be all you can ever get?

-        Local support for all levels of issues (or will you only initially get support over the phone or email by the supplier and then have to go to different providers to if they cannot help you)

-        One solution provider or is the solution a combination of various 3^rd party solutions pulled together to appear as a single solution provider.

Although the above points are common sense they can sometimes be lost in the buying process. Remember that at the end of the day you need to be satisfied and happy with what you are purchasing and if the solutions being offered are not being compared apples for apples then how can you be sure?