18 April 2006

The "S" words for Server Based Computing

In my first post I asked the question what is the future role of SBC. Is it more of the same but with more added on? Or is there something different over the horizon?

In either case, there is a minimum set of values that should be addressed and displayed by the SBC and thin client vendors. These values are often implied, or lost, in the "techno mumbo jumbo" listings of their product features or mission statements. The buyers technical staff, in most cases, are the decision makers and they love the technical information and that is also their responsibility. But, somewhere up the decision tree, there may be someone that may not be as technically savvy as the IT staff and they have the responsibility to sign off on the project. If I were them, I would be asking some questions and they all have the letter "S" in common.

Safe and Secure

Is the proposed project solution safe and secure for the entire enterprise? Not enough that it meets the demands and specifications of the project objective, but it must be integrated into a larger IT infrastructure.

Sound

The 1913 Webster dictionary definition of "Sound" is " Whole, unbroken, unharmed, free from flaw, or decay, perfect of the kind...". Perhaps too much to ask of a vendor, but please do.

Scalable

It has been said that an organization is either growing or dying. Is the SBC vendors product solution able to grow with the needs of the organization? Are the barriers to achieving scalability a function of physical limitations of the hardware, software, architecture or a decision to segment a market as defined by the marketing group?


SIMPLE


How simple? No more complex than is required to meet the project solution and scalability requirements. For those of you that are very much into mastering the complexity of SBC, enjoy the possibilities if your organization approves. However, one only needs to visit a public or private help forum to realize that many organizations have over purchased a SBC solution or under planned for the implementation. Either case, there is a waste of resources and productivity.

Still waiting on a few vendors to respond to the survey, and hope fades with each sunset that they will respond. Therefore, I will evaluate those products that I am able to evaluate using my letter "S" criteria. Vendors that could not, or choose not to, respond to a generic request for information would not be as "Sound" as the vendor that hosted an hour long "one on one" webinar demonstrating how well their products meet the "S" criteria.

Until the next post,

Steve