Vendors – BenQuick.me

Accessability no longer matters. Phew

The pandemic is, thankfully, over. We all need to return to our lives as they were pre-December 2019. At least I think that’s what various governments are telling us.

As are various vendors. Do you want to attend an event that they put on during the pandemic? Great! It’s in-person only once more.

Who needs accessabilty, right?

Can’t travel to an event? Sorry, pandemic’s over!

Can’t get childcare? Sorry, pandemic’s over!

Have hearing difficulties so need real-time captions? Sorry, pandemic’s over!

Can only dip in and out so need to be able to watch recorded sessions? Sorry, pandemic’s over!

It’s quite frustrating. Somewhat understandably, vendors were scrambling to be as inclusive as possible during the pandemic. They need to tell you what products they can sell you, so of course need to get that message out however they can. But now? Sorry pal, got to be there in person.

The difference in vendor demos

I’ve attended no end of vendor demos over the years, and some stick in your mind for different reasons – A NetApp demo at a University campus. This was a great demo with a good account team, but the use of the word ‘tetris’ does start to bug you after a while. A Packeteer demo on site where I worked, where the tech tried to tell us that their product could reduce the latency between Europe and North America. No amount of explaining that you simply cannot change physics like that would convince them otherwise

An unnamed vendor who, no matter how many times you re-phrased the question, were unable (or unwilling) to answer how their storage arrays replicated data 🚩

How to win friends and influence people

Sometimes I’m in a position to influence decisions. I normally base my opinion on the technical detail of a solution, and how it fits current and future business needs. But recently, I’ve realised how much the approach of the sales team comes in to play.

For example, Pure Storage are a joy to work with. They have a very strong product set which very much fits the needs of the business I currently work at. They’re easy to engage with as a company and an account team. We have approached them previously to ask for a solution to a problem, and they have been honest in excluding themselves from the running as the products they have weren’t a good fit. Wonderful. I believe in credit where it’s due, and am receiving nothing for saying this.

Then comes Rubrik. I have never contacted them. In the past 9 months, they have e-mailed me 18 times. 9 times in the last month alone. They have offered to pay me just to talk to them. That feels shady – Your product should speak for itself. How good is your product if you have to pay people to listen to you?

Sometimes I’m in a position to influence a decision, someimes I’m not If I’m ever in a position to influence vendor selection for any product Rubrik sell, I’ll try my hardest to ensure they’re not in the running. You’re never the only vendor available.