--On 11/26/2001 09:22:01 AM -0500 Christopher A. Woodfield wrote:
My first thought in response to this is the vendor's support costs - wouldn't shipping more reliable images bring down those costs signficantly? Or is it just that the extra revenue opportunities gained by adding $WHIZBANG_FEATURE_DU_JOUR outweigh those potential support savings?
-C
What's the upside to $ROUTER_VENDOR in reducing support cost? They already make money on the support but can't make too much, so a reduction in cost would probably imply a reduction in revenue. Also, given that network engineering rarely make support cost a key issue in vendor selection and negotiation, reducing support costs look like they have little payback to $ROUTER_VENDOR in terms of equipment sold. With that, $WHIZBANG_FEATURE_DU_JOUR, sure looks like a good profit decision. To change this, stop buying gear from vendors that charge too much for support. just my jaded opinion, jerry