* Where have all the systems engineers gone (to visit with the big accounts)
A few weeks ago in a newsletter about Avanti Technology’s TaskMaster and its CEO, Steve Meyer, I wrote: “Meyer adds that Novell reps (and when’s the last time you saw one of those?) have recommended TaskMaster…” Well, it appears some people misinterpreted my parenthetical remark, especially those Novell reps who wrote to say: “We are out there working with our customers everyday. Our partners are working with the SMB customers while we continue to focus on the larger customers.” Well, isn’t that what I said?
I didn’t say that Novell reps were neglecting their customers, just that – in a trend that goes back over 10 years – the company keeps reducing the number of representatives who are available to meet with customers, while restricting the reps to meet with only the largest accounts. Twenty years ago, I saw my Novell systems engineer (SE) in my office a couple of times a year – and I wasn’t a large customer. I also saw him almost every month at our NetWare Users International meeting. This was someone who represented the company in the best possible way – he answered my questions, told me what was coming down the pipeline and helped me find the right people (or products) to solve the problems I had. It was good.
During the 90s, I no longer saw my SE unless I happened to run into him at BrainShare in Salt Lake City. Instead, I dealt with a vendor – one that sold NetWare and Novell products as well as provided front line support. For some reason, though, the vendors with the best prices were seldom the ones that offered the best support. Well, it stands to reason. The profit on the software was what paid the support techs. Cut the profit with heavy discounts and you cut either the number or the expertise of the techs. So your choice becomes, for the most part, either good price/bad service or good service/bad price. There were (and are) exceptions, but they’re few and far between. Present that choice to your bean counters, though, and it quickly becomes Hobson’s “choice” – i.e., no choice at all: take the low price option.
It’s a sad state, but it’s necessary to assess the blame all around – it’s not all Novell’s fault. Shortsighted customers demanded lower prices (at the cost of good service) leading to fewer Novell SEs, poor service from vendors and partners, which as led us to where we are today.
Twenty years ago, my Novell SE saved me a lot of time, a lot of effort and – yes – a bunch of money by knowing which tools I needed to accomplish the tasks I had to do. Without his advice, it became a much more time-intensive (and time is money) search with, perhaps, a lot of trial and error before solving the problem. So the cost of the Novell software might be less, but I don’t think the total cost of ownership – of the network – is. So I do applaud the fine work that the Novell SEs are still doing while regretting that many of you will never get to see one – unless you go to BrainShare.
