RE: Selecting a business partner for an upgrade -- MIDRANGE-L

First of all, pricing will not be the same from BP to BP.  Some will
want the sale and will be more aggressive in discounting.  I commonly
hear everything from 0% off to 20% off without even trying.  Some will
discount even more to win your business on the hope of earning more
money later.  Some will discount hardware by 1 percentage and software
by another.  Ditto for maintenance.

That said, you want to go with a BP who has experience with what you're
intending to do.  LPAR is common enough nowadays but make sure their
person is certified or get customer references.  SAN on 400 is still
pretty uncommon so again look for a BP with experience.

Finally, there's nothing wrong with using an out of state BP.  But if
you are bundling LPAR setup, which can include on-site hardware work,
into the purchase, be warned that an out of state BP may incur (and pass
along) T&E charges.

I've used 2 BPs here in Chicagoland and a third out of California.  Each
one has offered a 'unique' experience.

-----Original Message-----
From: Burns, Bryan [mailto:burnsbm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2004 10:10 AM
To: MIDRANGE-L@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Selecting a business partner for an upgrade


Let's say that, hypothetically, a company is thinking about upgrading
their 820 to an 810 and that this company does not have a business
partner of
choice.   Let's say that this company is not exactly sure what should go
into the 810 as they are wondering if LPARs on the box and a SAN for
data center might be beneficial.

How would this company select the right business partner to buy the
upgrade from?  The last upgrade was configured over the phone with a
partner out of state.  Perhaps this Chicago area company would prefer to
work with a local business partner.

The pricing for an upgrade is set by IBM and should be the same from all
business partners, correct?  Should this company pick several business
partners out the phone book, ask them for proposals, and then go with
whomever has the best attitude? How much effort should this company
expect a business partner to put into a proposal given that they may
need help from the partner with respect to analyzing LPAR and SAN issues
and that they are soliciting several proposals?


Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
    

Bryan Burns
System Operator
ECHO Incorporated
Lake Zurich, Illinois
847-540-8400

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