We’ve noticed a new trend among clients. The New Year has meant office moves. And we’ve noticed that some ‘c’ level clients have an innate belief that since they are moving into another companies space, a space where the other company was doing business, that they can just move their business and IT in too, and do business there because the other company was.
They are not taking into account the other company had completely different infrastructure, most of which they took with them when they left. Infrastructure they were deferring upgrades and maintenance on for years (much like the company that is moving into their space). Infrastructure on a shoestring, where no one left knows where the ‘patches’ and ‘work-arounds’ are. That knowledge left with the other company.
Many companies use “we’ll leave the phone system” type of ‘bonuses’ to the new owners as some type of generous incentive. The new owners somehow believe that this is a new state-of-the-art phone system, or perhaps even a serviceable one. What turns out is that they are years, sometimes decades obsolete, and cost money to remove.
Existing wiring plants with no map or labels, which go to unknown places. Sometimes it’s less costly to just replace them.
40 year old infrastructure where the service contracts have been left in place and are now a liability to the new company because the service contracts cost more than completely new infrastructure. The old infrastructure, although it works, can be replaced with modern green equipment for a fraction of the cost of maintaining the old equipment.
Move into another company’s space, and assume the phones/IT/AC will service you because it serviced them. I’m going to call the notion ‘hermit crabs’.
- Dan Scolnick
IT Computer Support of New York
President and Chief Technical Officer
