Re: Open-source opportunuity?
On (11/09/03 08:09), Oliver Elphick wrote:
> On Thu, 2003-09-11 at 00:36, Clive Menzies wrote:
> [ re Network Rail tender request ]
> > I'm London (UK) based and have a business background. I lack the
> > technical skills and knowledge to approach this but I'd be happy to
> > contribute.
>
> I'm an accountant by training, but technical by long-settled choice.
>
> Making a tender is very much a business and marketing exercise. We
> would need to convince the customer not only of the technical merits of
> our proposal but also that we have an organisation capable both of doing
> the job and of providing long-term support. We would first have to
> build such an organisation.
>
> If that can be done, I would like to be involved.
>
Well there seems to be some interest in pursuing this and I would
suggest that before going much further, we need to put together a team,
assigning roles and responsibilities to research the bid.
I have some experience of successful pitches for consultancy contracts
but a task of this size and complexity is beyond what I've done in the past.
Please could we have suggestions as to what the roles are/or should be.
Then I would suggest a process as follows:
Research the tender - what does Network Rail want? (scope and scale)
Assess the competition
Assess our ability to build a credible team
Assign roles and responsibilities
Collaborate on the Response to Tender
Although the debian-user community has all the requisite skills to do
this, it will also require people on the ground, in the UK, to pull this
off. I've no idea of the number of people necessary to convince Network
Rail that there is a team with a comprehensive skill set with cover and
fall-back. If we are up against the likes of EDS, IBM, HP, Sun or one
of the big consultancies, you can reckon that they will put a lot of
man-power to this.
I've had a couple of responses off-list, one individual and one on
behalf of a company. I believe that this needs to be a community effort
to succeed. It is the unique nature of the Debian community which may
just be the USP (differentiator) that could win this. I wouldn't
exclude a consortium with a corporate but we do need the willing
involvement of some of the prime movers in the Debian community if we
are to put together a credible bid.
It is therefore most constructive if people express their interest on
the debian-user list.
Regards
Clive
http://www.clivemenzies.co.uk
strategies for business
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