Vendor vetting

摘要

Some network executives either overlook or don't make the most of a key resource in evaluating IT products and services: the customers that are already using them. Schon Grouse, PC support analyst with Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, knows exactly how valuable vendor reference checking can be. He's currently evaluating two software vendors, PDADefense and Extended Systems, for client/server security software that will be loaded on to handheld devices, including smartphones, used by hospital staff. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations mandate that the devices lock down the instant they're shut off, which requires the user to key in a password to turn them on again.