Re: Anti-Virus Change/Eval

[Mark Wilson <wilsodm () AUBURN EDU>]

Charlie,
Thanks for the valuable info.
Mark
> > > Charlie.Prothero () KEYSTONE EDU wrote on 01/30/06 2:35 PM:
> Mark,
>
>
>
> I answered a similar post last year as follows:
>
>
>
> I was in the same boat over the summer; with a 2-year deal we had
done 2
> years ago up for renewal.  The reseller that we used previously sent
me
> a quote, and it was high.  A sales rep from another company had been
> after me for some time to look at their product, which seemed
comparable
> to what we had.  Naturally, there are switching costs on AV software
> (staff time, risk of failure, etc), so I told him that the only way
we
> would consider going with him was if he could produce evidence of
> substantial savings vs. renewing our current product.  In order to
keep
> things fair, I did not share any pricing information.  Pretty soon,
I
> had a quote in front of me with VERY attractive pricing.  I started
our
> PO paperwork process to do the deal, and then sent a courtesy note
to
> tell the other vendor that we would not be renewing.  Within minutes,
I
> received a phone call from the reseller, requesting that I not do
> anything until their customer retention group had a chance to
"verify"
> the part numbers, pricing, and the level of discount that they could
> offer.  As you might have guessed, they came back with a much better
> proposal, and we stayed with them.
>
>
>
> I don't like to go back and forth with vendors, preferring instead
to
> give everyone one chance to put their best offer on the table.  But,
in
> this case, our incumbent vendor did not know when they prepared
their
> first quote that there were competing proposals up for consideration.

> Bottom line/lessons learned:
>
> *         The AV market is competitive; with little differentiation
> between the top vendors (i.e. they all provide good protection
without
> much variation in price).
>
> *         Your vendor does not want to lose your business, and will
> likely offer very aggressive pricing if they know you're looking at
> alternatives (Conversely, if they think you're in the bag, they
won't
> shrink their markup just to be nice).
>
> *         All other things equal, the product you have installed
today
> and that your techs are familiar with is probably the best one for
you.
> Switching products is a lot of work, and will require significant
staff
> time.  Calculate this into any savings model you may be developing.
>
> *         This is something that you should revisit periodically,
but
> not every year.  If you are satisfied with your current product and
> decide to renew, take advantage of multi-year pricing deals (we did
3
> years).  Multi-year deals with a new vendor may be harder to get
> comfortable with.
>
> *         If you change your AV provider, and then have an outbreak,
> everyone will question whether it would have happened if you had
kept
> your existing solution.  So, make sure you have very compelling
reasons
> to make such a change!
>
>
>
> That's all I can think of, for now.  Good luck!
>
>
>
> - Charlie.
>
>
>
> Charles Prothero
>
> IT Director
>
> Keystone College
>
> La Plume, PA
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mark Wilson [mailto:wilsodm () AUBURN EDU]
> Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 10:11 AM
> To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU
> Subject: [SECURITY] Anti-Virus Change/Eval
>
>
>
> We are considering changing AV packages.  Even though we are
generally
> satisfied with what we have, changing AV solutions would be a large
>
> undertaking in terms of conversion, costs, learning curve, etc.
>
> However, we feel some "fiduciary responsibility" to at least explore
the
> possibility of changing AV solutions.
>
>
>
> For those who have gone through (or may be considering the same)
>
> changing AV packages for your school, I would be interested in
hearing
> your experience, the reasons you chose a particular AV solution ( or
>
> decided to keep the current) , and the challenges involved.  I would
>
> also be interested in your take on the matter if you decided to
stick
> with what you have or decided it was too large an undertaking.
>
>
>
> Thank You,
>
>
>
>
>
> Mark Wilson
>
> GCIA, CISSP #53153
>
> Network Security Specialist
>
> Auburn University
>
> (334) 844-9347