6: Are any spare parts provided?
With specialty solutions, there's usually a piece of equipment that allows the system to communicate to noncomputing devices when Ethernet isn't used. Identify the custom components that are required for the system to operate and then determine the requisite inventory of spare parts and how to get more if they're needed.
7: What are my options for compliance?
If this system sits on your network to communicate with another system for performance data, automated interaction with other systems, or other communication reasons, you should be concerned about service pack, hotfix, and antivirus compliance. Many vendors of specialty systems provide these services as an option. One service, called Managed Care Light, is a screening service available to custom solutions. Updates are screened and then local IT is empowered to deploy the available, relevant, and approved updates for special systems.
8: Who is our account/sales representative?
A vendor contact is important to your IT department because it can help you manage direction. For the next version of this solution, or when it's time to upgrade, you can consider working with this individual to explore alternative options, should they be available. For example, you don't like the PC in the warehouse that talks to the laser plasma cutter over TCP/IP -- why not host it as a virtual machine? The account/sales rep can get you in touch with the right people to explore this possibility.
9: Can the vendor restore the system in its entirety?
It's important to ensure that the vendor can totally restore this system in the event of fire, flood, theft, etc. Consider using imaging tools like Symantec Ghost or LiveState to make sure that you have a full restoration of the system.
10: What is the decommission date/modernisation/replacement timeframe?
This may seem insignificant at system inception, but how long will it be here? How long does this equipment last? These are important questions, and they should not go unanswered. For example, the laser plasma cutter is on a desktop-class computer. A good estimate is to put the life at three years. If this is a mission-critical solution, two and a half years would be more realistic. (And you might want to ask follow-up questions about why it's on desktop-class equipment.) Know what the modernisation paths are, if today were the decision point, so that capital funding can be made available if necessary and so that this system won't slip into the forgotten realm.
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