Value Added Resellers - “Cheap” Usually Means Scalability, Service, and Reliability are Sacrificed

January 6, 2010 · Filed Under Data Recovery · Comment 

Value Added Resellers (VAR’s) come in all flavors, shapes and sizes – they provide a vital service to IT departments who are suffering from severe budgetary constraints, staff and skill shortages and issues in implementing and managing increasingly complex solutions. Successful VAR’s are those who are delivering skills, customer service, bottom line improvement and are cost effective, but unfortunately, customers frequently confuse “cheap” with “value added”.

Being cheap is not a bad thing – in fact it can be excellent! Cheap is not a good thing when it places constraints on future development and adaptability of the network. It is a definitely bad thing when the “cheap” solution subsequently incurs excessive management costs or worse, a serious management issue because the solution is failing users and business expectations.

No IT manager likes to be in the situation when they are called in to explain why a solution implementation is over budget or worse, considered to be a failure!

Frequently, cheap means that the solution cannot be scaled up if it is a success or simply to meet the needs of a growing company. The VAR usually is the constraining factor in these instances because solution substitution is rife in the IT market – it is not fair to say security solutions are like commodities but it is not a far stretch to make that conclusion from the lofty heights of the boardroom. In practice, it is the VAR you choose to work with who is the constraining factor in exploiting or upscaling a solution for your business.

Typical reasons for this include the fact that the VAR is cheap. Cheapo charging VAR’s do not usually have the financial foundation to continue with developing their own skill sets which you rely upon to be delivered into your own operation. They usually do not have the breadth of support from solution providers – particularly watch for a VAR with only a couple of certifications but who claims to provide a wide range of services.

Cheap also means sub-standard or no realistic SLA when it comes to customer service.

Imagine a solution that the users love where adoption is widespread and the application becomes mission critical to the board and the staf. Unfortunately, the application is hosted by the VAR who is unable to afford enterprise class connectivity. Now you have the telephone ringing incessantly as everyone from the VP Sales closing a deal in California to the customer service reps in your NJ call center suddenly find they can’t do their jobs.

In turn – you make the call to your VAR – ask yourself what you are going to get, a voicemail or a person?

Ask yourself the same question except it is 3am on Christmas Day and the application is delivered over the WAN to 4 continents and every time zone?

This is where “cheap” simply means “bad”. The answer is to focus on cost-effective solutions which demonstrate clear ROI and are backed by a VAR which has the substance to deliver the SLA you need and can afford. In these cases, it is far better to go with a VAR who is charging appropriately for their services, rather than "cheaply".

 

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Computer Programming Course : Where Learning Computer Programming can be Easy

January 4, 2010 · Filed Under Computer Services · Comment 

There are two styles of getting in to computer programming; through a degree course or computer diploma courses. In addition to that, there are other computer programming courses that address specific skill or an area of technology. For this article, computer programming courses will be the subject matter.

Imagine that you are one of the tech savvy graphics designers. There is a new technology and tool comes in to the world of graphics designing and almost all the customers would like to have their job done by the new tool as it produces quality and lovely output. If you want to keep the customers coming to you, it is required you to study the new tool in town. There are only two logical choices left for you; either to learn the tool by self-study or follow a computer programming course for the new tool. This is how usually one start taking a computer programming course. The computer programming courses offered in the universities and other private ‘professional’ institutions have a broad difference. Usually the constructs and the fundamental exercises are emphasized in university undergraduate studies.

The objectives of university programs are to offer the pupils the foundation for the programming practice, so they can universally use the knowledge irrespective of the computer programming languages. But when it comes to skill courses, the proper usage of the programming tool and the tool specific constructs are . This is an easy way for you to be productive with the tool within a short period of time. Selecting the ‘right’ computer programming course is always a challenge as there are number of institutions providing the same computer programming course. There are many parameters to consider when selecting a computer programming course.

As the first step, consider your level of skill with the programming language that is supposed to be learned. As an example, if you are trying to study Java though one of these computer programming course, then see how good you are at object oriented programming. As Java is one of the first object oriented programming languages, you will stand a distinct advantage if you are aware of object oriented concepts. If you are thorough with OOP (object Oriented Programming), then you can select a course that offers only Java education. If you are aware of OOP concepts, then you can select a computer programming course which OOP included.

Having the right computer furniture, like computer desk will help you to create an efficient place for your computer learning or work. If you are interested in knowing more about these computer desks information, you can check out the particular website on cherry computer desk which reviews the best small computer desk option and related information. Find out what your options are and learn which type of computer desk is right for you.

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