text: When good vendors go bad The most pervasive problem in running IT is not a specific technology issue at all. Its dealing with bad vendors. Even if you have been able to reduce your IT operation down to a pure open source environment on the software side, hardware still must be purchased through commercial channels. In the post-boom IT age, the power has supposedly shifted from vendor to buyer, but IT managers continue to be manipulated by vendors who dont always act in the customers best interest. To keep vendors in line, IT managers need to stay on the ball  and punish bad behavior when it occurs by finding new suppliers.