Allan Sulkin asked a great question: Nortel: What Should Customers Do? Not only does the question apply to Nortel but to any manufacturer, and if customers forget history and they do, then they too will experience some pain.Several VoiceCons ago I laid out what I thought was and still is a service tree that any organization--provider or customer--can employ. The sobering reality is that your plans need to include plans of someone else's failure, such as what Allan is describing with Nortel. You see, business continuance plans only apply to your business, not your providers.
We all have experienced manufacturers dropping products after short life spans, discontinuing products either because they are product mature or they are just plain not great products. Similar yet but not the same are the failings in the CLEC and carrier space and more notably MCI. What do customers do?
While there is no fail safe or easy passage in difficult times to safer waters, planning for continued support is still essential. Most customers won't rip out their Nortel gear if Nortel goes under. These things must be handled delicately (pun intended). Realistically, many keep bringing up what happens to all this TDM gear that will die at any moment? Again, who can predict when, maybe a few lucky prognosticators, but those who plan are the ones that I bet will ride the storms out and benefit the most.
The service tree is one that is overlapping in other areas including internal and external resources. I believe if you can visualize the ins and outs between the relationships and how to resolve issues with other resources, then you too will be able to continue support if and when your manufacturer drops a product or worse, goes under.
The relationships also change in the Service Pyramid, and one good example is when one of our large enterprise accounts ceased operations, another one of our large enterprise accounts that is a Nortel shop needed a huge Nortel upgrade but didn't have the cash on hand. Introducing the two customers led to a buyout of the Nortel gear from the closing company, and of course we enjoyed the installation/replacement.
In another example, we have purchased inventories from VARs ceasing their telephony pursuits. Keeping a pulse on when the factory is dropping products is always a signal to buy necessary inventory or to provision other plans. Timing is always critical since budgeting for replacement equipment isn't practical. If Nortel goes under, are we saying there is no support? Not only is there support, but the real obstacle becomes folks understanding that the relationships and dynamics of those in the Service Pyramid (below) do change. In short--resistance to change is really more of a hindrance, and conveniences do get disrupted.
As an Interconnect, we end up supporting gear for years after the death of a manufacturer or when products get dropped. It isn't a perfect process, but at least it's a plan. The question really is "Who do you turn to for help?" Depending upon who you are, the options may seem limiting, but in reality they aren't. The caution is, the options all come with varied costs and nuances of dealing with another party. The relationships depend and so does your judgment in executing a bridge to carry you over and through the time period needed before implementing other solutions.
These apply today and not just to Nortel customers. How well you know the process of service and the interlapping areas will determine how well you can navigate through any storm. Now's the time to consider service, who to turn to for help and when, rather than later. Reactionary measures always end up costing more.
