8 minute read
Buying infrastructure is hard because the vendor knows more than you do. These are the questions that surface the difference between a designed solution and a price list — and yes, some of them are uncomfortable for us too.
On the proposal itself
- Did you survey the site before quoting? If not, the number is a guess and variations will follow.
- What's the contention ratio? If it isn't 1:1, peak-hour performance will not match the headline figure.
- Is the bandwidth symmetric? Ask specifically about upload — it's what video calls, VPN and backups depend on.
- What exactly is excluded? Almost nobody publishes exclusions. Ask for them in writing.
On what happens afterwards
- What are the response and restoration targets, and what credits apply if you miss them? An SLA without credits is a statement of intent.
- Who fixes it at 2am — your staff or a subcontractor? Ask what happens if the subcontractor doesn't turn up.
- What documentation do we get at handover? IP schema, port map, configuration backups and as-built drawings should be standard. If they're not, you're buying dependency on the vendor.
- Will you test the failover in front of us? Untested failover is not failover.
The documentation question is the most revealing one. A vendor who hesitates is telling you the network will only ever be maintainable by them — and that's a commercial position, not a technical one.
What a good answer sounds like
Specific, and occasionally unwelcome. 'Four-hour response in these cities, next business day elsewhere' is a good answer. 'Rapid response nationwide' is not. A vendor willing to tell you where they're weaker is usually telling you the truth about where they're strong.
The best sign is being told you don't need something. If every conversation ends in a larger proposal, you're being sold to rather than advised.
