This from the "wow, really?!" file: charitable groups and private foundations are having a hard time finding donations.
Last year nonprofit groups and organizations were finding it hard to meet demands. Now comes a report that this year they are having an even harder time. Not really a surprise to be totally honest here. Neither was the claim that some were forced to cut services while others had to lay off people or the corollary claim of switching from pay based to volunteer staff (though not as many went that route that I would have expected).
You can get more details by reading the actual survey here. Be sure and read the full survey (linked on that page) as the summary is a bit to simple to be very useful.
It got me wondering though on just how many of those know what a dedicated IT solution provider can do for them. In the survey it highlighted that demand increased for 63% of those surveyed so that means that over all they had even more reason to maintain their tech edge. Hard to do when you're bringing in less ... unless you know how to leverage your advantages. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
Still the effect of the economy on NP's in general is sad. These are the people that you go to when all else fails. They fill the gaps left by state and federal cuts or just in areas that never got any coverage at all. Over 6,900 and if things keep going the way they are, we will see up to 547 disappear. I can only hope that I won't need one of those that end up fading away.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Back from Vacation and ... wth?
OK so here I am back from vacation and of course there is a bunch of things I need to resolve. While I did stay in the loop while I was gone it's never quite enough.
For those interested, I had a very relaxing vacation.
So on my return I meet with our Strategic Partner Manager (I think that's her title) and she tells me "kudos for squaring away VMware" (I'll post about that some other time ... maybe) but then goes on to tell me that we have a pita situation with McAfee. Seems they need over half a dozen people certified per company or they won't deal with us or give us the savings we need to help out nonprofits. My response was: really? What the heck?! (ok I PG'd that but you get the point)
This from McAfee, the "also ran" of AV solutions.
Look, I'm all for people getting certified. I mean it's only logical that they do it so they can truly know what it is they are actually selling. Considering that nonprofits need even more advice/information/hand-holding it's even more important for us. But really, do you need a cadre of people for a product that is basically considered by many to be on low end of the spectrum for anti virus solutions?!
To be totally honest I can't see any AV solution provider needing anywhere close to that. Anti-virus software is so "point-and-click" and generally automated that the only place I can see needing certified sales and support people is when dealing with enterprise level installations. Even then you really should have the person onsite (or contracted) to install/support the solution with the certification, for sales it's really just a matter of knowing what the best license cost level is the best fit. So there should be at least one (or 2-3 depending on the sales staff size) but what McAfee is asking for is a bit on the ludicrous side of things.
Needless to say we will go ahead and get things rolling so we can service our customers but the writing is on the wall. McAfee can only blame themselves for hurting their sales with draconian reseller requirements. Then again the question is: do they even care?
Somehow I doubt it.
For those interested, I had a very relaxing vacation.
So on my return I meet with our Strategic Partner Manager (I think that's her title) and she tells me "kudos for squaring away VMware" (I'll post about that some other time ... maybe) but then goes on to tell me that we have a pita situation with McAfee. Seems they need over half a dozen people certified per company or they won't deal with us or give us the savings we need to help out nonprofits. My response was: really? What the heck?! (ok I PG'd that but you get the point)
This from McAfee, the "also ran" of AV solutions.
Look, I'm all for people getting certified. I mean it's only logical that they do it so they can truly know what it is they are actually selling. Considering that nonprofits need even more advice/information/hand-holding it's even more important for us. But really, do you need a cadre of people for a product that is basically considered by many to be on low end of the spectrum for anti virus solutions?!
To be totally honest I can't see any AV solution provider needing anywhere close to that. Anti-virus software is so "point-and-click" and generally automated that the only place I can see needing certified sales and support people is when dealing with enterprise level installations. Even then you really should have the person onsite (or contracted) to install/support the solution with the certification, for sales it's really just a matter of knowing what the best license cost level is the best fit. So there should be at least one (or 2-3 depending on the sales staff size) but what McAfee is asking for is a bit on the ludicrous side of things.
Needless to say we will go ahead and get things rolling so we can service our customers but the writing is on the wall. McAfee can only blame themselves for hurting their sales with draconian reseller requirements. Then again the question is: do they even care?
Somehow I doubt it.
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