I am the systems administrator for a well-established company [primarily ‘wholesale/retail electronics service and distribution’]. While operations have been “computerized” for more than 20 years, we have not taken much notice of “current” technology. We have gone our own way and built our own system, originally based on a(proprietary O/S) minicomputer, and now being “ported” to an IBM RS/6000. I’ve had it recommended to me to have an “IT Infrastructure Assessment” done, mainly to have a basis for future planning. My concern is: if a specific vendor (like IBM) offers this, is that likely to limit the findings (and resulting suggestions) to their available options? I’d like to hear from someone who has been through this to get an idea of its value to a small business. If there is value in this, I want to maximize my return, and hopefully not come up with a prohibitively expensive plan that we won’t be able to implement! Any and all suggestions are welcome.
