We come across a lot of RFPs or RFIs (request for proposal or information) in our line of business. The purpose of these requests is that the requestor can make a substantiated decision on the DCIM tool they are going to purchase. We welcome these RFPs (or RFIs) just as much as all other DCIM suppliers but it can be frustrating at times to see that some of the questions in these documents are too vague to be able to discriminate between two totally different offerings. In order to make life easy of the requestors the questions need to be answered with a simple YES or NO. Bookkeepers can than count the amount of YES’s and the responded with the most wins the deal. These RFPs usually lead to false assumptions, because each supplies wants to give as much possible YES answers and if they find some backdoor to reply positively they will not hesitate. We (the DCIM suppliers) have to deal with RFPs on a daily basis, so we know most of the questions and we are prepared for them. But it doesn’t mean that you get what you want…Let us demonstrate this with an example of a type of question that we see a lot: “Can your system connect to NAGIOS?” (NAGIOS can be replaced by any other sub-system). The answer obviously is YES. But YES could mean that you have to export to a CSV file and open it in Excel, do some conversions, save it and import it into your DCIM. YES could also mean that you have a live connection between NAGIOS and your DCIM. This means that the data across NAGIOS and your DCIM is up-to-date all of the time. But all you get is YES or NO. The truth is hidden.
Since we are experienced on this matter, our CEO decided to write a book on this topic that got the suitable title: How to write and RFP for DCIM. It is a guideline for all who need to make an RFP or other . For most of you who do it is something you probably do only once or twice in your career. We have seen hundreds of RFP’s and it is both in your and in our benefit if you are clear on what you are looking for. This book will help you sort out what to ask for and how to meet your needs. It will eliminate useless information (like YES or NO) and replace it by meaningful answers on questions like HOW..
It is a free e-book (pdf) that you can download from our website after you have registered with your email address. If you just want the book and never hear from us again, you can easily unsubscribe from our list after your download. If you don’t we might send you our newsletter once every 3 or 4 months.
