Most IT environments today have infrastructures containing multiple technologies from multiple vendors, supported by multiple services contracts. Managing such a complex environment can get ‘messy’ when too much time and money is wasted on simple, run-of-the-mill tasks.

1. accelerate your ambition
Most IT environments today have infrastructures containing multiple technologies
from multiple vendors, supported by multiple services contracts. Managing
such a complex environment can get ‘messy’ when too much time and money
is wasted on simple, run-of-the-mill tasks.
The Messy Costs
of Multi-vendor
Management

2. accelerate your ambition
One in a series of 6 insights related to
Secrets and strategies
to long-term cost savings
on the network

3. What it really costs
to support your network
Think for a moment how much time your IT division
spends simply managing calls to vendors.
It’s easy to lose focus on the things your IT department
should be doing to add more value, things like innovation
and transformation. You want your people to spend more
time making the business better and less time simply
ensuring the business runs as usual.
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4. accelerate your ambition
The largest share of networks support costs
has little to do with the price of their support contracts
and far more to do with how the
multi-vendor estate is managed.
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5. How to do it well:
One number to call
(for all/majority vendors)
Environments can sometimes sprawl to more
than 30 vendors, considering all regions and
countries of presence.
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The solution, however, is the same for all:
employing the services of a single systems
integrator to manage your vendors and support
contracts on your behalf. It’s the central benefit of
service aggregation: having one number to call
when things go wrong.

6. How to do it well:
Co-terming of contracts
In a typical estate of between 10-30 vendors, clients
would tend to have a support agreement with each
individual vendor
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7. accelerate your ambition
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Co-terming means consolidating all contracts on a
fiscal calendar so that all renewals are synchronised
and occur at the designated time.
It is extremely critical for some areas such as security
that cannot be exposed to risk unnecessarily.

8. How to do it well:
Good partnering
Not all systems integrators are up to the
task of services and contract aggregation
in equal measure
You should look for a combination of factors that
contribute to a partner’s suitability.
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9. Good partnering
continued …
Ask how the services will be delivered, how well is
your partner geared – in terms of its systems,
processes, and infrastructure – to deliver the
services to a consistent standard around the world.
Most importantly, partner with a systems integrator
that understands your environment – even to the
point of helping you design your architecture.
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10. Seeking a
Services aggregator
You need your services aggregator to have a high
level of expertise across a broad range of the
vendors you have in your estate. If the partner’s
range is too narrow, it would probably pressure you
to refresh and transition parts of your estate – which
is not always ideal. If the range is too broad, chances
are the partner will have to outsource a lot of the
support to third parties.
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11. Copyright © 2014 Dimension Data
In Closing …
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For more detail on this topic read the full article:
http://www.dimensiondata.com/Global/Latest-Thinking/Muddle-in-the-middle-the-messy-costs-of-multi-
vendor-management/Pages/Home.aspx
The bottom line is, multi-vendor
management gets messy when it’s not
done well, and all of it adds to your total
cost of support. Find a suitable services partner with a
high level of vendor expertise across a broad range of
vendors you have in your estate to act as aggregator.

12. Related articles to Secrets and Strategies to long-term cost savings on the network:
3 tough Questions to ask your ICT Support Provider
Gorillas on your list – a diversified OEM Environment can lower your risk
Outsourcing your network Lock, Stock and Barrel in Bite Sized Chunks
Lowering your network support costs can’t be done blindfolded
Service Providers and OEMs Better Together