The second program, Technical Advocate, provides OTC with a key contact at IBM who can help locate the best person to call in a given instance, depending on the user's current support needs. We're using some technology that's fairly new on this platform. Foretich of Primis looks for vendors that scale their support to meet different customer requirements. Primus needs support personnel who know its specific requirements. He says vendors that do that best are those with distinct support groups for each customer.
Some vendors continue to follow a retail model rather than a partnering one.
Anthony Candito, CIO of New England Financial in Boston, says vendors are particularly reluctant to share risk. CIOs are sending a message to the industry. As IDC's Olsen says, vendors with a big market share but little interest in partnering have a lot to lose.