Amazon CIA cloud row: US judge slaps down IBM as 'manipulative', inferior

Human Decency 'out of scope'.

Did anybody, during the course of this bidding war over who gets to sell the gas and the ovens, table the notion that perhaps we should not be doing it at all. That would save a lot more and would be dead easy to evaluate.

We all, as G7 citizens, are paying for this nonsense, both in dollars and in lost freedoms. I really do not think we are getting our money's worth. I know we are not getting a good deal on that freedom thingy.

Merit?

Large US contracts are never awarded on merit alone; tricks and smoke and mirrors is how the game is played. Well, that and confirming with policies. The govt lead will straight up to you how your bid needs to be positioned to get the deal. The price isn't the main factor and only comes into play if all the other bids are equal, but that rarely ever happens.

Sub-contracts are, strangely, usually a much cleaner and merit based thing. There it's a business decision for all parties, not a career step for a government bureaucrat and/or political capital. There's a lot less sketchy bullshit involved when it's just money.

Standard agressive IBM behaviour

While I haven't met the gentlemen in court, I do remember a large project from 10 years ago where the Thing Delivered was not at all the Thing Promised to get Competitors Thrown Out. That and a friendly ear in the boardroom. "You can rely on IBM, can't you?"

You face when "This was not included in the overall price ... we will bring in our consultants ... for a fee."

okay.jpg

It's interesting how IBM picked Amazon in the first place. There must be an idealistic young hire in the decision process at CIA. More like this.

The obvious product

Customer service. No pricing tricks will make somebody sign a long-term contract designed to screw and abuse them. Smoke and mirrors are to be evaluated on their worst-case scenario.

Maybe IBM and Comcast will be hanging out in a bar this weekend, complaining about how much customers suck.