Evaluating Enterprise-Class Software - Part I

By Brenda J Christie

Evaluating Enterprise-class software can often be a daunting task.  There are often many of the same types of software available from numerous sources.  How do you choose what's best for your organization?

The first and probably most important thing to know are the requirements.  What features does the software need to have?  What functions should the software perform?  This seems pretty obvious, but ofttimes it can get lost, especially if the requirements are not written down, and especially as you are bombarded with a host of applications from different sales personnel.  So before you even start looking for vendors, have a requirements list, i.e., the software must have workflow, the software must use a Dropbox, the software must use HTML5 for security reasons, etc.

Once the requirements have been documented put together your vendor list.  Some things to consider are:

1. Longevity:  How long has the vendor been in business?
2. Market Share:  What is the vendor's market share relative to its competitors?
3. Does Size Really Matter?:  This refers to staffing and includes developers, project management, tech support, account management.  How much you need of any of this depends on the critical nature of the software being sought.  The more critical the application, the more of each you need.  You get what you pay for, even in an outsourced model.
4. Ready to play in the Big League?  This point speaks to the product knowledge as well as tenure.  What this means is experienced, long-tenured development and implementation specialists will spend less time getting you up and running and deliver fewer, if any bugs.  This translates into fewer dollars spent getting to production.  It also means there is a higher likelihood that any change or new request made subsequent to implementation will be addressed in terms of what the product is known to do.  That sounds like a lot, but what it really means is that when you ask whether the system can do something you will get a truthful answer based on experience, as opposed to hope.

In Evaluating Enterprise-Class Software - Part II we will look at other areas to consider prior to purchase including vendor reputation and where to go to find it.