We're traveling down a new road!

In our April eNewsletter, we announced that we would be making some dramatic changes over the coming months in what we do, how we do it, and with whom we do it. It was once said that if you keep doing what you are doing, the result will always be the same. This the beginning of a change that will change the result, not only for us, but for those we serve.

Over the past year, we have noticed some incredible happenings that clearly point to the need for a form of service rarely seen in the communications industry.  The term Program Manager is well known in the Aerospace industry.  There are basically two kinds of Program Managers, on staff for those that can afford them, and contractors for those who do not have a continuing need.  These are the guys and gals who pull things together and make things happen.  There is also a variation of a Program Manager, known as a Program Advisor.  These are the people who review a project with the objective of determining feasibility requirements and provide guidance in the decision pre-purchase process. 

               

For example, there is a large county government entity, well funded, and well staffed who embarked upon a communications upgrade several years ago.  They spend thousands of dollars on studies, site planning, budgeting, interviews with users and ultimately went to bid on a multi-million dollar contract which was awarded but as yet not completed.  Would you like to know why?  They forgot one very important step.  They forgot to check to see if frequencies were available for their project!  A few thousand dollars paid to a Program Advisor could have prevented this unfortunate, and expensive mistake.. 

In another case, a group of rural fire fighters got together, formed a committee, selected a lead department to be responsible for administration of the grant, hired a grant writer, and were awarded a grant over three quarters of a million dollars.  They had a lot of help from a trusted vendor who led them toward purchasing a system that did not meet the Homeland Security grant guidelines. To say that this caused a problem would be a mild understatement.  The fact is that they could have included the cost of retaining a Program Manager and done the job right at no direct cost to them. 

Traditionally, our role has been one of serving as an equipment provider, an endeavor at which we still excel; but we recognize there are times when our talent and capabilities might be best applied as a Program Advisor or Manager, or both.  It you are planning a major communications system upgrade or need a hand in separating the wheat from the chaff, give us a call at 800.489.2611.The call could save you a lot of time and money, not to mention helping you succeed in your planned objectives.