Page 2 does have advice, though it is advice for the client, not for the consultant.

That is why this article seems a bit shallow. Mr. Green provides us with his take on what the client should have done. I was always tought to write from what Iknow. It would be immensely more helpful if Mr. Green reflected on what he and his consultants should have done differently.

His advice for the client is very one-sided and presumes that the client has no leverage what-so-ever. If instead this "Advice for the client" were written by the construction company, it would have contained advice for how to draft a contract. Perhaps including caution like making sure that management has a list of what vendor provides support for which systems/services. Also include advice for getting the primary vendor to take ownership of resolving technical problems - especially if you have no technical staff of your own.

The article did not at all address how the onsite administrator could have betterhandled the problem. If he had stayed onsite and worked with the ISP, then Verde could easily have justified the Emergency Support bill and would still have a happy client.