Technology selection processes are never easy. There is hardly ever a conclusive opinion. There is always that nagging worry that the technology vendor is not telling the full story or that the buying team has missed something critical.
The reality is there is never a 'right' decision. There is only ever a 'best' decision that could be made in the circumstances. The challenge is therefore to make the best decision you can - to be sure that you know the risks and the rewards, and that you follow the most appropriate path. So, have you or your team made the best vendor selection - and how sure are you?
As a Technology Matchmaker, we spend all our time in the middle - between the buyers of technology, and the IT vendors selling that technology. It's a rather unique position and enables us to help both sides in the best way that we can. Our new service - 'Purchase Assurance' aims to be the final piece of the vendor selection process, providing a completely impartial and honest appraisal of your vendor selection decision.
The service covers every aspect of the vendor selection to make sure that it is the best decision you can take, and supports the investment papers by giving an external viewpoint on the decision process. It covers the following:
Independent Customer Reference Calls - we speak to the vendor's customer base and get an honest, no-punches-pulled assessment of what it is like to be a customer. We will learn all we can and pass on that knowledge to the buying team.
A full vendor 360 assessment - we investigate the vendor and look at all the aspects that you need to be concerned with. What do their financials look like? Who are the key players that you need to form a relationship with? How is their product or service rated by the major analyst firms?
A review of the commercial (non-legal) terms of the deal - we give you our experienced and informed decision on the commercials before you sign. If we think there is room to negotiate, we will tell you so.
If you hit a challenge with the negotiations - our service also includes our 'deal mediation' offering, where we will step in and try to mediate a way forward.
Our intention is to give you peace of mind - confidence that you haven't made the right decision, but that you have made a fully-informed decision - the best decision you can make when committing to a major new technology project and associated spend.
Find out more about the Purchase Assurance service at https://www.viewpointanalysis.com/purchase-assurance