The team’s decision to seek advice from a competent technology vendor as early as possible and having a rapport relationship with the vendor laid the foundation for successful implementation of the network. The CIO recognized the importance of this action, saying “without question (Cisco was) key to the success of the project.” The CIO and the team attributed a considerable portion of the successful planning and development of the network to the close relationship established and maintained with the router vendor. The CIO said “Cisco played a large role in the functional assessments, and ultimately was selected as the implementation partner because of their collaborative efforts.”