Customer Reviews

The Smart Way to Buy Information Technology: How to Maximize Value and Avoid Costly Pitfalls

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Purchasing IT is a task of enormous complexity on several different levels. Technology continues to evolve rapidly and prices continue to decline. The true costs of buying and implementing systems are almost always greater than expected. And quantifying profit contribution is about as easy as catching a fish with your bare hands. Moreover, systems ripple through an organization, ofen in unanticipated ways. The Smart Way to Buy Information Technology can help lead you out of the IT jungle.

This handy volume is an indispensable primer for anyone whose job requires involves buying and implementing systems or overseeing people who do. The book is quite readable, can be read through in a couple of sittings, and is even sprinkled throughout with wry humor. It is equally useful for technical and nontechnical managers and covers the waterfront pretty well. It has interesting things to say on the topics of consulting, outsourcing and software licensing, and also has helpful sections on financial analysis of IT acquisitions, basic contracting (along with sample contract provisions with easy-to-grasp explanations), and the more mundane but important topic of contract administration. Each topic could warrant a volume of its own, but Peterson and Carco nicely compact fundamental concepts in each chapter.

This book is most appropriately placed in the "disaster avoidance" section of your business library. Its real strength is navigating the reader through the minefield of technology procurement (and there are lots of mines). The book gently reminds us that in procuring IT, we must resist being wowed by "gee whiz" technology and, like other capital decisions, focus on making a sound business judgment based on thorough financial analysis and our company's competitive position.

In Search of the Upper Hand

The last time you bought a car, did you go to the dealership knowing as much about the salesperson's strategy and tactics as you did about the vehicle you wanted to buy? If not, you probably didn't feel as in control of the purchasing process as you could have. What about the last time you made an IT purchase--how much control did you have over that process? If you had the queasy feeling that you'd been stuffed in the trunk and taken for a ride, then The Smart Way to Buy Information Technology is the cheat sheet you need to put you in the driver's seat.

    In a clear, common-sense manner, Smart Way reveals the ploys of vendors and how CIOs can counteract them. Do you have someone on your staff whose friend is a vendor? Learn how to make that person a mole and use the relationship to your advantage. Not sure how to make the best compromise in negotiations? Have a list of your needs in order of priority based on team input so that you don't trade away an important need for an unimportant one.

But the writing is more than just straightforward--frequently, it's also fun. Co-authors Brad L. Peterson, a lawyer, and Diane M. Carco, a finance executive, step out of their business personas and pepper their writing with takeoffs on Bertolt Brecht, John Steinbeck and Shakespeare's Hamlet soliloquy.

    The book is divided into three parts. The first looks at how IT buying mistakes are made, with insights into technophilia (love of technology) and vendor selling ploys (buzzword babble, appeals to machismo) that will make you giggle and grimace in recognition. People you know (and probably work with) are skewered in this book. The second section describes a practical strategy for dealing with these tactics: identifying the proper participants for a cross-department purchase team, avoiding the seven deadly negotiating sins (assuming that the vendor intends to screw you or has your best interests at heart are equally dangerous), and finding where your leverage with the vendor lies.

    In the final section, devoted to contracts, the authors delve into the minutiae of consulting and outsourcing agreements, software licensing and hardware purchases. The value of each clause would have been more apparent if the contractual information had been annotated. Nonetheless, if you're looking for nuts and bolts to make your contracts as mutually beneficial as possible, you can't go wrong with the fundamentals the authors provide. And you should certainly crib from this book the next time you buy a car.

--Howard Baldwin

For an executive who's too often gotten less than he expected from information technology, this book is a godsend. It's clear and a joy to read. It gives the right questions, and tells you how to use your people effectively.

This book is the first resource I've found to address the business dimension of IT acquisition and development well. As one who evaluates IT projects for a global Fortune 100 company, I relished the conceptual and practical steps in which the authors explained the process. Although convicting of our company's--and my personal--shortcomings, it has given me tools to improve our process and develop others. I have recommended this book to our team, and recommend it to anyone seeking a thorough primer on the business aspect of technology management.

Pretty basic and definitely geared toward the novice IT professional or procurement area.
Having spent over 20 years selling various IT products and services, most of her examples are over-exaggerated or just plain silly.

I have been negotiating IT & telecom deals on behalf of large companies for the past 3 years. I am continuously seeking material to expand my knowledge in this arena in order to be on equal footing with vendors. This book is without doubt the best I've come across in my long search. It's clear that the authors have "been there, done that." The review that gave this book a poor rating due to the authors'supposed unethical advice is bogus--I didn't find anything of the sort.

Completed the book in a weekend due to major contract negotiations at work. Found the chapters very "real-world" with appropriate anecdotes & examples to illustrate concepts. The chapter divisions were especially helpful; they allowed the reader to skip around & read the info needed. (I used the guidelines in the software contracts & contract administration chapters heavily. The contract clause samples are very good.)

The use of language was particularly interesting. There were many literary references & the occasional witty turn of phrase. (Was somebody an English major???) The book was an easy read & also quite entertaining. However, the authors' major goal is to help the professional who's actually involved in such efforts--not necessarily to amuse.

At times, the parody poems were a bit much, but almost all of the book was useful in some way or another. Would recommend the book to a procurement analyst or contract administrator that's new to the field and wants a good primer on all things IT.

Although the book contains some useful information, the authors advocated several unethical business practices, including lying, stalling, and micromanagement. Their advice was "cheat them before they cheat you." In 20 years of dealing with IT vendors, I have found that working WITH vendors, in an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect, is a much more effective strategy.

If you are acquiring products or services from a reseller/integrator then this book give you the knowledge you need to ensure that you're getting what you're paying for. Earlier in my career I was an MIS manager who dealt with resellers and made the switch to working for a number of reseller/integrators as a pre-sales consultant and network engineer. I came away with two fundamental truths: there is a definite ritual that underlies the IT sales cycle, and the difference between a computer sales rep and a used car salesman is the used car salesman knows he's lying. Apparently the authors of this book also see these truths because they arm you, the buyer, with a strategy and an array of tactics with which to cut through the FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) and the other ploys that the sales side of this ritual will use.

To be fair to the sales side of the acquisition cycle, they have face a tough set of challenges, among them the fact that many buyers do not understand the dangerous margins that are a reality of the seller's world. Also, IT technology has become a commodity and the resellers who truly do add value are often competing on price alone.

That said, everything in this book rings true for both sides. Resellers are going to employ every weapon at their disposal, and this book lists them all: relationship development, knowing your hot buttons and pushing them in many subtle ways, and always nudging you to the close. Some of these tactics are well-intentioned and may actually take into account your real requirements. However, the book also points out other external forces at play, such as quotas imposed by your sales rep's own company as well as pressures from their vendors. Combined, these too often result in your being skillfully talked into technology that is proposed for reasons other than its fit to your needs or overall value as an investment. In this respect the advice that the authors provide might seem on the surface to be adversarial or worse; however, it is designed to ensure that your acquisition strategy is aligned to your real requirements and not the result of skillful manipulation.

Among the most insightful parts of this book, in my opinion, are chapter 4, which covers negotiations and how to control the negotiations; chapters 8 and 9, which provide sound advice for monitoring and auditing vendor performance; and chapter 10 on contracting. Each of these areas are key in the sales and delivery cycle, and are especially important for services. When I was in that business I thought that it was absolutely amazing how many customers overlooked the vast difference between what our sales reps promised and what was actually delivered from a services perspective. The real value lies in service, and that seems to be the one place where the buyer consistently loses. If you follow the advice provided in these chapters you will learn how to get with you pay for and how to hold your reseller accountable for delivering what was promised.

I think this is one of the best written books on how to buy IT technology and services. Learn from it and you will have the assurance that you will get best value and solutions that meet your real requirements. The book is weak on the financial side of solution selection and measuring benefits, but it is incredibly strong on how to manage vendors and beat them at their own game. I strongly recommend it if you are involved in managing vendors or acquiring product and services from resellers.

Research by AT Kearney indicates that only 13% of CEOs are very happy with their investments in information technology. This is a clear sign that there is a great need for information on how to make better IT decisions. I was glad to see a book on the subject and commend the authors for their efforts.

The main focus of the book is on the vendor / customer relationship. It describes a hostile, win / lose approach to managing this interface. This may be appropriate for Corporate America, but other cultures may differ with the writers views. If you follow their directions, it is likely that you will need the half of the book that deals with legal technology contracts. If you work in America you might need to do this!

One thing which the book omits which is vital to successful IT projects is the link between corporate strategy and IT. In other words - why are you making this investment. Many companies invest in IT purely because it is available. This is the case of Technophilia which the book introduces. That chapter is spot on.

In summary - there are some useful concepts in this book, but in missing out some key points, it still leaves a fair amount of margin for error for the uninitiated investing in technology.