(30-Nov-09) In uncertain economic times, you may feel wary when choosing a technology partner. If that vendor goes belly-up, you don’t want to be left out in the cold with technology you can’t support or has no upgrade path.
Whether you choose to put all your eggs in one basket or spread out the risk among several partners, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution – it depends on the culture and sophistication of your organization, and the talent you have to drive those decisions. The reality is there’s always a risk in any IT deployment that you’re not going to reach the finish line for any variety of reasons – the failure of a vendor is just one possible contributor, said Andy Woyzbun, lead analyst with Info-Tech Research Group.
While there are no guaranteed indicators, there are signs to watch out for, and ways to protect yourself if, in fact, your vendor is suddenly out of the picture.