Technology – It can be straightforward!

There are some simple rules to follow when selecting a technology that will enable you to make the right decision and save your organisation an awful lot of pain when trying to implement and utilise it.

I have often been asked “What is the best software?”! I simply pointed them to a directory of software vendors and said it was in there, because one software will be great for one business and poor for another.

Without detailed criteria of what you need a technology to do and whether your colleagues will be able to use it effectively, you might as well stick a pin in the Yellow Pages.

So here are the rules:

1. Brainstorm exactly what you need a technology to do for your business and get input from everyone it will touch, or a representative from each department if this is not practicable - This will give you your specification list.

2. Discuss, agree and score each item on your specification list in order of importance – This will highlight the priorities to discuss with vendors.

3. Create a specification you can distribute to vendors and send it to as many as you like, inviting them to confirm they can provide a solution to satisfy your criteria but more importantly evidence they can satisfy it.

4. Separate responses into those that stick to your criteria and those that try and hoodwink you with all the bells and whistles you didn’t ask for – Invite vendors to present from the pile that stick to the criteria and, in your opinion, provide the most professional response.

5. Make sure all departments in the business are represented at the vendor presentations and instruct those presenting to clearly demonstrate how their solution satisfy’s your criteria and get them to evidence this. Also ensure you grill them on how user friendly their solution is and again provide evidence.

6. Choose two or three to go to the final stage, which is the quotation round – Invite them to submit their best price bearing in mind one or two others vendors are doing this as well and let each vendor know who they are up against.

7. Invite each vendor back in to run through their quotation and if necessary remove elements lower down your priority list to reduce cost even further.

In essence, do the hard work before choosing a technology because it is so much harder trying to make the wrong technology fit your organisation and operational needs.

Colin.