For a further clarification of a "multi-vendor" scenario, here's a hypothetical situation:
- an integrator knows the CIA, FBI, and successor to the KGB all need secure software services
- the integrator convinces two secure data centers, one in Reston, VA, and the other in Moscow, to host equivalent infrastructures
- the integrator puts together a suite of services consisting of: Oracle DB (backend store for some services); Microsoft SQL Server (backend store for others); AT&T network connectivity to/from Reston data center; Russian network connectivity to/from Moscow data center; SharePoint document repository; Microsoft Office suite of tools; document-management vendor software managing search, archival, secure role-based access to documents, automatic purging of documents after a given time where applicable; EMC networked storage; image-processing tools with plugin architecture; automated image-processing software from several small specialized shops to recognize military equipment, buildings, insurgent hideouts, etc.; bla bla bla bla
- the integrator puts in measuring tools everywhere to gather usage data: data transmission; storage used; DB activity; #-of-important-items-recognized-during-image-processing-runs; #-of-users-in-system-X; #-of-document-views; etc.
- the integrator applies billing policies for the entire stack, perhaps on a different basis per customer (e.g., CIA/FBI get large-volume discount price list; Syria's secret service gets small-fry high-cost pricing)
- large organizations will likely have (a) a central consulting group acting as a distributor to other departments (along with payments to integrator and income from other departments); (b) other departments that will buy from central consulting organization
- at the end of every month, each department/organization/consultant/integrator either: (a) gets income from their customers and downstream distributors; (b) pays someone upstream for their usage; or (c) both pays and gets some income
- in this case, the integrator (a) pays out to Oracle, Microsoft, EMC, data centers, etc., all on a per-use basis (of course, a flat monthly fee for any particular item is also "per-use" of a month); (b) receives incomes from its direct customers
- given adequate security the actors in this scheme need not ever know directly who their upstream or downstream is beyond a single level
- an integrator knows the CIA, FBI, and successor to the KGB all need secure software services
- the integrator convinces two secure data centers, one in Reston, VA, and the other in Moscow, to host equivalent infrastructures
- the integrator puts together a suite of services consisting of: Oracle DB (backend store for some services); Microsoft SQL Server (backend store for others); AT&T network connectivity to/from Reston data center; Russian network connectivity to/from Moscow data center; SharePoint document repository; Microsoft Office suite of tools; document-management vendor software managing search, archival, secure role-based access to documents, automatic purging of documents after a given time where applicable; EMC networked storage; image-processing tools with plugin architecture; automated image-processing software from several small specialized shops to recognize military equipment, buildings, insurgent hideouts, etc.; bla bla bla bla
- the integrator puts in measuring tools everywhere to gather usage data: data transmission; storage used; DB activity; #-of-important-items-recognized-during-image-processing-runs; #-of-users-in-system-X; #-of-document-views; etc.
- the integrator applies billing policies for the entire stack, perhaps on a different basis per customer (e.g., CIA/FBI get large-volume discount price list; Syria's secret service gets small-fry high-cost pricing)
- large organizations will likely have (a) a central consulting group acting as a distributor to other departments (along with payments to integrator and income from other departments); (b) other departments that will buy from central consulting organization
- at the end of every month, each department/organization/consultant/integrator either: (a) gets income from their customers and downstream distributors; (b) pays someone upstream for their usage; or (c) both pays and gets some income
- in this case, the integrator (a) pays out to Oracle, Microsoft, EMC, data centers, etc., all on a per-use basis (of course, a flat monthly fee for any particular item is also "per-use" of a month); (b) receives incomes from its direct customers
- given adequate security the actors in this scheme need not ever know directly who their upstream or downstream is beyond a single level