Organisations of all sizes rely on Information Technology (IT) to operate efficiently and effectively. Systems and their processes often provide a competitive advantage for your business as well. The criticality of systems makes selecting the right IT system is a daunting task because it’s essential that your business has the tools it needs to succeed.
This article introduces key considerations and practical tips we have used to select the right IT systems for businesses. If you have any questions you can comment below or book a meeting to discuss your project with us.
What to consider when assessing IT Systems
Document your requirements
Before you begin any market research and enquiries, make sure you understand your business’s requirements clearly and concisely. This is important because these requirements will inform your evaluation of IT systems. Requirements can also be negotiated into contracts to ensure vendors deliver on their promises too, so make sure these requirements are understood and agreed across the business. Getting buy-in from key stakeholders at this early stage is one key predictor of success.
Functionality and Feature Alignment
Equipped with your business requirements, you can now evaluate how well the system meets the business needs and processes. No system is perfect, so be honest about functionality gaps or areas where prospective systems fall short. A Must-have, Should-have, Nice-to-have scale can be useful for prioritising your requirements and make it easier to assess and compare system features.
Integration and Compatibility
No single application fits all arms of your business and system integrations are often a vital part of new implementation projects. Evaluate systems' ability to integrate with your existing IT environment; Can information can be efficiently migrated from your legacy system? Can information be easily shared between systems? Consider future technology integration needs and choose a system with open standards. Identify any integration challenges and develop solutions to overcome them.
Change management
In our experience, what users think of a new system is another key predictor of success. The system and its processes need to make sense to end-users and be easy to use. Consider how different the current vs. future state is to inform change management plans and user training. Managing user expectations is another key predictor of success.
Support and Vendor Relationship
The time spent implementing new systems is fleeting compared to the time you’ll be living with this new system. To help ensure a long term stable relationship, you can request the vendor's support agreements early and review vendor's track record for for delivering reliable support and ongoing product development.
It's a good idea to negotiate Annual Maintenance and Support Agreements for the future before implementing a system. This incentivises the vendor to view your business as a long term partnership and improve the quality of their effort.
Cost and Total Cost of Ownership
Analyze the system's licensing fees, maintenance costs, and ongoing support expenses. Consider the hardware and software infrastructure costs associated with the system. Cloud-based vs. On-premise solutions: Evaluate the flexibility and cost benefits of cloud systems. There are pros and cons to each operating model, especially relating to data security, ownership and management.
Security and Compliance
Evaluate the strength of your security controls and access management policies.
Assess vulnerability management processes and patch deployment effectiveness.
Review compliance with relevant regulations and industry standards.
Identify potential security risks and vulnerabilities and prioritize their mitigation.
Tips for choosing the right IT system
Now comes the fun part - Shopping! Not the impulse type though. The Leave-in-Cart and compare multiple features, reviews and prices, type of shopping.
Talk to other businesses
Ask other businesses in your industry what IT system they use and what they like and dislike about it. Invest time now by diving deeper into how specific processes work for them and how you will apply their experience. These businesses are also very useful to call when you need to problem solve in the future!
Get a Demo
Get a demonstration of systems from prospective vendors and have them prove their product meets your business requirements. Getting access to TEST environments so end-users have hands-on time with the system to give feedback is even better.
Negotiate
This is my favorite part! Don't be afraid to negotiate with the IT system vendor. You are in the driver's seat. Negotiate price, deliverables, support, milestones and payment terms.
Get everything in writing
Make sure you have a clear understanding of the terms of the agreement, deliverables, expected benefits and milestones before you sign anything.
Summary
Choosing the right IT system is a complex process. By taking the time to consider your requirements and doing thorough research, you will be better informed to choose a system
that will help your business succeed.
Choose a system that addresses your current needs and provides a foundation for future growth. Prioritise functionalities that directly solve your pain points and contribute to your goals and don't rush the decision. Take time to research, evaluate, and compare different options.
Seek expert advice to ensure you make the best choice for your business. Pro Partner can lead you through every key step of the vendor selection process.
Book a meeting with Pro Partner
Our team has Project Management, Business Analysis and Development expertise to guide your selection and implementation of Enterprise and other IT systems.
If you're at the beginning of this journey, we'll work with you to write a Project Brief to outline the critical components of your project and help communicate these to your team and stakeholders. If you are mid-flight, we can get into the detail of what's working well and how we can help...
Chris @ Pro Partner - Your professional project partner.
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