On (11/09/03 17:58), Arnt Karlsen wrote: > On Thu, 11 Sep 2003 09:18:51 +0100, > Clive Menzies <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > > > 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. > > .BR will wanna have several such vendors around to pre-qualify > for the job, and we wanna reseach the tender first. ;-) > > > 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. > > .note that our bid does not have to exclude the other vendors. I agree and to demonstrate credibility, it may be essential
> > > It is therefore most constructive if people express their interest on > > the debian-user list. > > .agreed, but I do not wanna use this list to discuss the > details of the tender docs. ;-) > Agreed again but as yet there seem to only six people interested on list and two off. Is this enough? Or more importantly do we have sufficient skills accumulated? Perhaps a brief summary of each person's experience and particular interest posted on a web page with a brief synopsis of what we are trying to achieve may encourage others to come forward? Do you want to develop this further off-list? Regards Clive -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
