In 12 years with DoE I've never had the CFO come down and reverse
a decision. Thank the Ethernet Providers Above that we have the
ability to by the product that best meets our mission, even if
its more expensive. This doesn't imply that we don't have to
document our technical decision, just that sanity prevails.
I believe that companies also exist where technical justification
can win out over the bottom line if it better meets the mission.
When I threw out that "I would never buy a 40G interface" I gave
my reasons why. If a 40G interface becomes cheaper than 4x10
Gig-E/40 Gig IB and the technical issues I mentioned are resolved
and 100 Gig is more than a year or 2 out, then there may be a case
and it might be a reasonable investment.
I'll leave it to the manufacturers to decide if they think that
can get over these hurdles, but you should know that these hurdles
exist.
Thanks,
Brent
PS: I can't imagine a CFO coming down and saying that I have to
spend more money so I'll take your comment as a vote of confidence
that someone can make a 40G interface at a price target below what
4x10G interfaces will cost in 2 years. Otherwise, you're just
mocking a customer that will buy one of the first 100G interfaces.
Jay:
"As for folks who have CFOs (or even CIO/CTOs) telling them
what to buy, I strongly suggest you look for an employer where
you have a say in technology adoption because there are lots of
companies that do respect their internal experts and don't just buy
what vendors put in front of them."
Your comment above is interesting!
In 25 years of engineering and 30 years of investing I have never
met a single company where this was the case. The engineers are never
allowed access to the corporate check book! This is how you avoid
conversations with the bankruptcy judge!!!
Thomas Dineen