| If you've been in the computer consulting business | | | | IT Spending: Shielding Your Clients from Early |
| for a while, you know that influencing product | | | | Adopter Risks |
| selection is one of the more valuable services that | | | | As the PC industry continues to experience |
| your firm performs for its client base. | | | | unprecedented financial pressures, a lot more |
| Your clients depend on your firm to guide them | | | | products are being rushed to market |
| toward reliable, cost-effective technology | | | | prematurely.In early 2001, leading IT market |
| solutions. Along the same lines, your clients count | | | | research firm Gartner Dataquest, announced that |
| on your firm to help them steer clear of "lemons", | | | | the U.S. PC market shrank by 3.5 percent, |
| or IT support "quicksand" in their IT spending. | | | | compared to the same period a year earlier. This |
| IT Spending: Newly Released Technology is Often | | | | was the first industry contraction in seven years. |
| Not a Smart Purchase | | | | One only can wonder if as the hardware giants |
| If the first year's depreciation cost of IT spending | | | | reduce headcount, expenses and R&D, will |
| on the latest and greatest PC hardware doesn't | | | | consumers become their extended R&D facility? |
| deter your clients, this might. If your clients | | | | This revelation is really nothing new to the PC |
| purchase PCs with processors that have just | | | | industry. |
| been released, new kind of motherboards, | | | | IT Spending: It Takes Time to Fully Test New |
| revolutionary kinds of graphics accelerators or | | | | Products |
| updated chipsets, they may get some very | | | | For at least a decade, PC owners and small |
| unpleasant surprises. | | | | businesses have had to consider their IT spending |
| IT Spending: Your Clients May Blame You | | | | with a continuous stream of updated hardware |
| Clients generally don't like unreliable PC hardware. | | | | device driver software and reprogrammable |
| Many clients will even blame you, the highly paid | | | | firmware updates. |
| computer consultant. Peeved clients with major | | | | The trouble is, from the time problems are first |
| hardware headaches can be huge threat to your | | | | reported, analyzed, diagnosed and ultimately fixed |
| firm's survival. | | | | through updates, your clients have to suffer with |
| Protect your clients' IT spending plan and your | | | | unreliable hardware products. If you're looking to |
| company's future by being very careful when it | | | | help clients control their IT spending, you don't |
| comes to being an early adopter with | | | | want your clients to be a hardware vendor's |
| bleeding-edge PC hardware. | | | | guinea pig. |