It can happen to any vendor, but this kind of upgrade trouble can’t be too much fun for both the library and SirsiDynix. The 4 day downtime at the Ottawa Public Public Library even elicited talk from a city councilor to seek compensation from SirsiDynix.
I know that in late 2009 the city approved upgrading from SirsiDynix Horizon to SirsiDynix Symphony, and I believe the official target was June 2010, so perhaps week’s event was related to the big upgrade?
Definitely not good to get this kind of press – see today’s Ottawa Citizen article for full details.
A good time to pitch Evergreen to the city?
Indeed – only last I spoke with some of their crew (back in 2008 @ Access), the view from the top was that open source ILS ‘was not an option.’ Further, given how these things work – if the city approved the upgrade in 2009, they’re not likely going to entertain another change until a few more years pass or their system goes broke again in some major way.