Re: I've had this oodles of times
"buying stuff for a local authority team,"
Isn't there a legal requirement to buy from the cheapest supplier? Without some creative purchasing skills, that could mean buying from someone trying to undercut the bigger fish and making pennies per unit on the sale, relying on volume and no further warranty costs.
Speaking to one local authority customer, he confided that they will sometimes purchase a "base" device without any optional extras, then separately purchase the "extras" which are actually required, so as buy from a supplier they know they can trust and not from one they know they will have a poor experience with and will actually cost more in the long term.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
