Blog: Craig Schiff

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High Risk Vendor Tactics

In the highly competitive race to win more business performance management deals, a new approach has recently emerged. It goes something like this - the first vendor in says 'If you agree to not look at any other vendors, I will give you the best possible deal'. For most people wise to the software purchasing process this should clearly be a red flag. First of all, many companies have specific policies that require them to look at multiple vendors before they make any major purchase. There is good reason for this - you have to do your homework. The world is littered with failed IT initiatives where the appropriate level of due diligence was not performed. What is the vendor afraid of anyway? If they truly have the best solution for your needs they'll win in the end.

Do you really think if you looked at their competitors and were seriously considering going with one of them the original vendor wouldn't put their best deal on the table? In other words, you should still be able to get their best deal after going through an appropriate due diligence process. Just looking at one vendor is a big mistake. While most BPM products appear to perform the same basic tasks, they differ widely on how they actually perform those tasks. You wouldn't want to end up with a solution that was difficult to use or difficult to maintain or slow performing or required a lot of consulting customization in the key areas that were most important to your business. The only way to be sure you have the best solution for your needs is to examine multiple products in detail and compare how they address your requirements. While I often hear people say 'you can't go wrong with (insert name of leading vendor here)', I think you can go wrong, Minimally you may end up paying for many bells and whistles, features, and perhaps even modules that you simply don't need. In addition, I strongly believe that there is not one solution available today that is right for everyone. On the other hand there is one solution that is just right for you. The only way to find it is to go through an in depth vendor evalutation process.

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