Ping Pong is the latest tech slang. It refers to the back and forth blame game that can happen between tech vendors. The hardware guy blames the software. The software folks blame the hardware and they all blame Microsoft (it probably is Microsoft).
As a dentist caught in the middle you are the ping pong ball! Back and forth waiting to get slammed.
There are two strategies to avoid ping ponging. First don’t buy random technology. Many times I visit offices where the hardware came from three different sources, it is running three different operating systems and hasn’t bee updated in years. The software is just as bad. A second tier management system with non dental photo management that is not part of the digital record. Then the doctor adds a stand alone radiology package.
In that kind of a system when something fails, and it will fail, it is very difficult to determine why and how to fix it.
The second strategy is to find a good local IT company with dental experience and let them handle everything. That includes setting up hardware, setting up the network, installing programs, trouble shooting conflicts and monthly maintenance.