On Fri, 16 Sep 2005, Matt Bazan wrote:
Wouldn't it be great if there was an online, updated daily, website that listed real quotes oraganized by region in the country and company size?
Yes, it would be great, however it won't work.
I think so. Here's what I propose. I will design and host a web site to organize just such info. What I will need from all of you out there is your real time quotes (anonymously submitted is just fine, black out all the relevant personal/company info) and just include some general info on location (state for instance) and rough size of company.
I am sure that this will violate teh company-wide NDAs that are generally signed when you enter into a business relationship with vendors. Most vendors of size require this type of agreement, although most engineers are not privy to the agreement itself. I forsee the following proplems: 1) Vendors do not want their pricing available for all (including competitors) to see 2) Vendors would require that list prices be used 3) You would still need to go to the vendor to find out what level of discount they are willing to give you, and then negociate the best discount you want. 4) Different companies of similar size are able to negotiate different levels of discounts, depending on the specifics of their relationship with the vendor. You're likely to get a better percent when you buy quantity 400 of "B" router/switch/SAN than quantity 2. 5) Purchasing companies would be less likely to want to divulge this information, as it could hurt their competitive advantage. If they are getting a 75% discount, and their closest competitor is only getting 50%, they have a lot better advantage. 6) Such a list is likely actually cause companies to have to pay more. That being said, I would personally LOVE to have the information. I would not be able to participate because of the NDA that we have signed, or risk loosing my job. -Sean