Tim Cook, CEO of Apple
This insight is crucial when selecting vendor software. It's not just about the software and hardware; a vendor's service breadth and depth to support and enhance your needs long-term are equally important.
While a startup might excel at
innovation, it's often not the right choice for critical business software.
When selecting a solution, always consider a vendor's:
Decide on a vendor solution that considers:
When you're evaluating a vendor solution, look beyond just the software to these key areas:
Having engaged in over 200 RFP
projects, I've made two primary observations:
Vendor application software, also known as Commercial
Off-the-Shelf Software (COTS), is a ready-made program or collection of
programs developed by a vendor.
It can take several forms:
Today, tens of thousands of high-quality commercial software packages and services are available. Regardless of your selection approach, a sound business process is critical to optimizing your vendor partner decision.
Consider buying software rather than
custom-developing it for these compelling reasons:
Don't fall into a false sense of
security; buying software isn't a cure-all, and it's not suitable for every
organization or application. Exercise discretion when deciding which
capabilities to enable using commercially available software.
Capabilities that truly differentiate your organization in the marketplace might require custom software.
Be aware of the communication
challenges that can arise between your organization and potential software
vendors. Often, your organization doesn't fully understand how a vendor's
system works, and the vendor doesn't completely grasp your business processes.
This creates a significant gap to overcome.
Communicating solely via an RFP
with your procurement department as an intermediary further impedes
communication quality and understanding.
During implementation, the realization often surfaces that the selected software vendor can't support your essential needs, ultimately dooming or diminishing a successful business outcome.
Sometimes, organizations request too many desirable requirements, buying and paying for more than they actually need. Focus your requirements on the vital few that genuinely enable your business case.
No, that's not a misspelling. Comflexity™ represents what happens when too much flexibility creates complexity.
Commercially available software is
designed with powerful configuration capabilities.
Buying application software is essentially buying a business process. If you're not willing to commit to the business process and its associated integration, don't buy the software.
Buying, implementing, and sustaining
software is a significant and strategic organizational investment. You need to
establish a strong partnership with your software vendor.
Adopt a partnerial mindset to:
A vendor might promote using their software to satisfy a use case for which it wasn't explicitly developed. They'll emphasize the "commonalities" and the "minor" changes required. Don't believe it!
People bring all sorts of biases to the decision-making table, including prior experiences, favoritism, and personalities.
Don't consider vendor software a solution if you're unwilling to entertain changing your business processes. Viable vendor software solutions are highly configurable to meet most business process needs. However, you must be flexible and open-minded to change your business process to truly leverage vendor software solutions.
Vendor decisions are about more than
just selecting a vendor. Is your organization prepared to extract optimum
value from a vendor relationship?
It's not just about the vendor's
capabilities. Does your organization have the requisite abilities to truly
leverage what the vendor brings to the table?
This leads to Capability
Thinking®. At a minimum, your organization needs requisite skills, methods,
and experience in the following areas to fully leverage the vendor
relationship:
A vendor I know uses the tagline,
"Complex things can be so easy..." This idea also applies to the
Request for Proposal (RFP) process, which many organizations unnecessarily
complicate. They often rely too heavily on just paper communication and their
procurement team, making the process more difficult than it needs to be.
You can simplify the RFP process by
directly interacting, talking, and listening to each vendor. During these
discussions, make sure to document crucial conversations, expectations,
conclusions, and decisions.
Many organizations jump into a
vendor selection process too soon, without fully exploring other possibilities.
Before you even consider new vendors, take stock of your organization's
existing solutions and partner relationships.
Ask yourself these key questions:
Prioritize leveraging your existing partner relationships before looking for new ones. Consider solutions in this sequence:
Vendor project managers often act more as administrators than true project managers. Their primary role is to manage the vendor's deliverables, schedule meetings, and facilitate internal communication within their own organization. Crucially, they represent the vendor's interests, not yours. To effectively manage your implementation project, your organization must assign its own dedicated project manager.
A vendor's solution architect, often a product specialist, deeply understands how their system works. They are incredibly valuable resources for helping you understand the vendor's solution during the evaluation phase. They also provide detailed insights and assistance during the implementation process.
Vendor software selection is about more than just software—it’s about making a strategic investment that aligns with your organization’s needs and capabilities. By considering service breadth, vendor stability, business process alignment, and long-term viability, organizations can make more informed and successful decisions.