I was involved in a discussion this morning in one of the tech news groups about a particular ‘national’ contractor and the question of its legitimacy as a trusted partner. It prompted me to think about these companies in general and how many IT service providers have been burned or ripped off doing contract work with a few of them.
For the most part, well established nationals, to a great degree, can be trusted. Yes, there are exceptions (I can hear you yelling names like Barristers already) and even then it is sometimes a matter of unfortunate circumstances that cause a national company’s demise rather than intentional misconduct.
However, this industry is also has more than its share of less than reputable companies and scams simply because there is really no requirement to meet in order to set yourself up for business other than getting a license to operate as one. There is no certification, no regulation, no quantification of any sort that filters out the unqualified and undesirable. The field is wide open to anyone who wants to try it. It is a freedom to operate in such an open marketplace that is at once both wonderful for opportunity and frighteningly dangerous.
This was why I felt it was important to compile the Directory of National Contractors in the IT Business Resource Directory on the site. I originally compiled the directory in response to constant discussions and queries about nationals both in the Yahoo computerbusiness group and the OnForce forums. I would often read the same questions over and over “anyone know anything about (insert national name here)? Are they any good?” and I realized it would be a lot easier to have a list of them all posted online which we could all rate and comment on, eliminating the hassle of responding to the same questions constantly and make it more efficient to get a general, collective assertation of each company.
I was not the first to do this. There was another list of national IT contractors on the Internet that was popular several years ago, but it wasn’t kept up and I don’t think it is active, if it is even
still around. However, as I recall there was no rating system except a recommendation from the web site owner and since individual experiences will vary with many nationals I felt it best to rate them based on a consensus rather than my own opinion.
I presented above to the computerbusiness group in response to a query about a specific national. Someone did his own research on the company in question and walked away with the conclusion that although it sounded good, the company’s business model just didn’t add up.
This what I told him: I think you are wise to ask those questions and really check them out first before dealing with them. There are a lot of these companies out there and while there are some with good intentions not all of them can be trusted.
Although I intend to maintain neutrality on this, I am compelled to say, for the sake of those new to the computer business, that just because a company says it has secured funding for this or that or just closed a huge contract doesn’t necessarily mean anything. I have spoken with owners of such businesses before that boast acquisition of such funding or contracts that sound impressive but isn’t entirely accurate or even true. Companies typically flaunt such things to legitimize themselves and bolster confidence in their companies; the psychology is that if someone is willing to invest millions in their operation it surely means the company is worth investing in and they now have the money to spread around.
A lot of us have been burned enough to be wary of any company that shows up and claims to be the new ‘industry leader’, but there are many techs just starting their own businesses who are not aware of this and are ‘ripe for the picking’, so to speak. Those are the ones I am most concerned about, because I started out as one myself many years ago and I can say first hand that unless you go into this business with a lot of preparation, a little caution and just a bit cynicism, your business can get eaten alive.
Yes, I do sound somewhat cynical, but I’m just telling it like it is.
