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Further to the Barry Bonds Post . . .

Written by: Jon Hansen

Article Overview: The response to the Barry Bonds post through both the PI Blog as well as e-mail has been tremendous. Be sure to check out the comments that have been posted (with more to come), as they are indicative of the prevalent attitudes amongst stakeholders in terms of the Government of Canada’s Shared Services strategy. One question that I am often asked is if “concern with the GoC program is solely an issue of access and lost revenue opportunities,” or if there are “broader implications” that elevate the negative pushback from one centered on entitlement. Specifically, are SME complaints tied solely to fears of lost revenue opportunities (which some consider to be self-serving), or is it indicative of a true erosion of “best value” products and services availability.

Further to the Barry Bonds Post . . .

The response to the Barry Bonds post through both the PI Blog as well as e-mail has been tremendous. Be sure to check out the comments that have been posted (with more to come), as they are indicative of the prevalent attitudes amongst stakeholders in terms of the Government of Canada’s Shared Services strategy.

One question that I am often asked is if “concern with the GoC program is solely an issue of access and lost revenue opportunities,” or if there are “broader implications” that elevate the negative pushback from one centered on entitlement. Specifically, are SME complaints tied solely to fears of lost revenue opportunities (which some consider to be self-serving), or is it indicative of a true erosion of “best value” products and services availability.

While this does reflect the concerns of some key stakeholders, issues such as domestic cluster development are also becoming part of the collective consciousness. Especially given the aggressive policies of other governments in terms of developing important Knowledge-based (industry specific) competencies. Please refer to my post from August 28th, 2007 titled Public Sector Procurement Practice and the Principles of External Economies, Clustering and the Global Value Chain (see the Reference Links section at the conclusion of this post).

However, what are the specific areas of opportunities in which the SME community now finds itself on the outside looking in.

Certainly Mike O’Neil’s comment indicating his belief that “unless PWGSC is willing to commit independent resources to continually monitor and insist on product offerings that add value and cost savings for the GoC, Shared/Managed Services initiatives will simply be a reflection of what the winning vendor has or wants to offer as COTS solutions regardless of price or functionality improvement,” is worth considering.

Especially given my findings, which indicate that large (i.e. tier one) vendor pricing has more to do with supporting their business infrastructures rather than being a reflection of the products or services that are being delivered.

This has also been cited as one of the main reasons why governments such as the U.S. have started unbundling large contracts as reported in a series of PI posts last year (see Reference Links). Besides concerns with artificially inflated prices, studies have found that the major ramification of centralizing contracts under a single, large vendor is that it actually stifles the innovation that leads to a variety of problems including the one to which O’Neil had referred.

For whatever reason, the consensus is that GoC policies are tantamount to giving the proverbial keys of the kingdom to a single, large vendor. Is this the case?

It is hard to say for certain as the GoC hierarchy continues to play their cards close to their vests.

Regardless, if we are to collectively move beyond a perpetual state of inertia (especially when compared to the proactive policies of other governments), we somehow have to find a way to move beyond the discussion-disappointment cycle of futility that has marked previous dialogue exchanges between the GoC and an increasingly skeptical and demoralized supplier community.

Interestingly enough, the theory of strand commonality clearly shows the points of disconnection between various stakeholders as well as highlighting the corresponding links to bridge said gaps.

For example, Chuck Henry’s 2006 PowerPoint presentation on FOSS, the availability of new and more competitively priced vendor models, as well as the recognition of the importance of individual and collective cost structures at the department and agency level are just a few examples of the areas of connective commonality.

In the end, the ability to see and ultimately connect these as well as the other dots will determine Canada’s position in an increasingly knowledgeable and competitive global marketplace.


Referenced Links:

Public Sector Procurement Practice and the Principles of External Economies, Clustering and the Global Value Chain August 28, 2007

Cluster Development and the CAC (PWGSC): Facilitator or Competitor? October 13, 2007

Reader Question: Is a strong small business sector important to the stability and growth of a nation’s economy? November 10, 2007

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Article Tags: aggressive policies, barry bonds, business infrastructure, cluster development, collective consciousness, cots, e mail, external economies, global value, government of canada, independent resources, o neil, procurement practice, product offerings, public sector procurement, pushback, revenue opportunities, services strategy, tier one, value chain



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Re: Hi Everybody - [quote="barrysarner":la3cprc6]Hi Alan, Thank you very much for reaching out. It's greatly appreciated. Regards, Barry[/quote:la3cprc6] Sure thing, Barry. Looking forward to your expertise.
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Re: Where to focus your time? - Thank you Michelle and Thank you Evan F-O-C-U-S . . . That has been my biggest challenge since I was 3 minutes old. My Ex business partner always said " No one can beat Barry [u:1px6ddia][i:1px6ddia]when[/i:1px6ddia][/u:1px6ddia] he's focused". . .With "WHEN" being the proverbial "operative word". Thanks for holding up the Mirror. That is the benefit of being part of this community. Thanks again Regards Barry
Re: Social Media Marketing - For B2B Products & Services - Great Post!! I also agreed that because now days you can increase traffic through social media site Facebook and twitter. When you are creating a Facebook fan page, create attractive welcome page and add as many friends as you can then communicate with your friends. Post comment for your friends post like their status etc and just improve your communication and ask them to like your fan page. Run Facebook Applications like network blog and connect it to twitter.
Re: THE SECRET TO SUCCESS IS ALL IN YOUR HEAD...RIGHT NOW!!! - [quote="Barry Sarner":3uztv6sd][quote="edkaini753":3uztv6sd]Its true success starts in your mind, when you set goals then you make whole plan to achieve them so everythinh start in your mind[/quote:3uztv6sd] Whatever you truly believe will come true. YOU CANNOT BE WRONG!!! : Believe you will succeed, you will. Believe you will fail, you will. Your success is really up to you[/quote:3uztv6sd] This is so true Barry and one of the hardest things to do. The majority of people don't really believe that they can truly achieve their dreams, so that is the first step anyone must take and once you have that faith you will get what you want most in life. MichelleJ


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