The last few evenings I’ve been dipping into old documentation on the NAS, and deciding what needs keeping and what can be forever deleted.
In July 2016 I was leading a project to source, shortlist, and deliver a Unified Communications tool for a small but national energy company.
The requirements for the UC tool were simple:
- Provide real-time interfacing on mobile devices with various ERP, Delivery, and Email systems, hosted in the company’s datacentre
- Integrate the field workforce mobile phones with the company’s on-prem phone system in HQ, and with the smaller phone systems in a large number of branches around the UK
- Deliver IM to the company’s mobile and office-based workforce
Five years later we take these features for granted, integrations have come a long way in a very short time, but in 2016 these were cutting-edge technologies, and the whole project required a lot of future-thought.
A large number of suppliers responded to the initial tender. They were quickly whittled down to three possible solutions, and then down to one final supplier.
One supplier, based in the West Country, didn’t like being culled almost as soon as their significantly below-par tender response landed on my desk.
From: Mark xxxx <mark.xxxx@xxxx.co.uk>
Date: 2 August 2016 at 15:16:36 BST
To: [Me@xxxxxx.co.uk]
Subject: RE: Unified Communications Proposal</mark.xxxx@xxxx.co.uk>Hi Brennig
Barry informs me you are shortlisting a cloud based hosted solution. Not the correct choice, but all the best with rollout.
Regards
Mark
Well!
This shows a remarkable lack of foresight on their part, no? These days, who would even consider not going with a cloud-based solution?
You can actually taste the sour grapes in that email!
But, I blame Barry.
I reckon he had it in for you.
Barry and his submission were straight out of 1997.