MANTRA 6: Buy better IT

Computer systems, like anything else we use, don't become completely useless at the end of their classified life-span. They can still be used in active service, in other less demanding roles. For instance, what was your production file-server could be used for near-line backup, or in a testing role. Your high-end PCs from a bygone era could be your security or reception-desk's terminal. Hard disks can be removed from old PCs and those systems reused as terminals using remote booting. Even something as intricate as your old 10 Mbps Ethernet lines could be used for hooking up monitoring stations along the way. 

A tip you can use here is to use our classification of the system according to which of its processor, I/O, network or other subsystem its been using the most of and then re-using the system in a scenario that would transfer that stress onto a different area. So a network-stressed system today could be put into an I/O or CPU-intensive task tomorrow, in a lesser-critical role.

Planning for upgrades

You don't think about upgrading a system when you begin to see it as obsolete. You build it in when you're buying it. Every system has a life-term. At the end of that, it ceases to be useful in that role and you must see it coming well in advance.

Sometimes, planning for an upgrade is as easy as checking for additional slots, although today they may be empty. When buying a server for instance, maybe one CPU with perhaps dual-core would be sufficient for your needs today. Tomorrow you might want to add another CPU-so get a dual-CPU board with just one CPU in it. However, you might want to check for the price of what you're missing today and make sure you won't be paying through your nose for it tomorrow. Does your CPU plan need two identical CPUs tomorrow? If so, will the CPU maker be still making them in that spec tomorrow? You need to check this with your vendor.

The same goes for peripheral and add-ons. You have a plethora of things to choose from: PCI, PCI-Express, AGP, SATA, PATA, SCSI and what not. Even if you are using yesterday's hot technology in today's systems, make sure tomorrow's hot tech will be there on the system for when you need it for upgrades. 

When negotiating products remember that you don't need to buy the bleeding-edge technology. But do your research on the runtime performance and needs (cooling, power) and consider all that data during purchase. 

Minders for negotiation

When negotiating with potential vendors, you need to pit them against each other. That way, they will compete among themselves to give you a better deal. And once you've clinched a good deal, you must constantly remind them for on-schedule delivery-delays may result in slightly different specs being delivered. 

Many vendors have multiple offices from where they can ship. Do your research on where the products you need are shipped the cheapest from-savings are usually in tax and VAT paid. The last rule is, of course, to buy in bulk as such deals save a lot of money.

When doing this, you can also buy in advance and cover future requirements.

It is not possible to get everything you want from a vendor, but you need to be clear on what you want from them. 

Put down everything in a wish-list and look for vendors who satisfy most of those needs. This will also help you in bargaining with them on pricing. 

Short-term contracts of a couple of years at most will keep the vendor (especially support vendors) on their toes, so they can continue serving you.