Software Vendors Are Getting Busy

Lately we have seen the software market start to heat up in most industries and software vendors are becoming very busy. While we are not at the levels that we saw in the Y2K era, just about every software vendor we work with has seen an increase in business.

What does this mean for you as you go through the selection and implementation process? Just like all organizations, the vendors have limited resources, which means that they will become more selective in the opportunities they pursue. During the last recession, they also cut back personnel which puts a further limitation on their resources. They are going to choose their best opportunities that they feel they can win, so you need to be organized and clearly communicate your requirements and timeline to the vendors so they can determine if they are a good fit for your project.

While the selection process can be a constraint, the real resource constraint for the vendors comes during implementation. Be very careful that you properly understand the implementation resources that will be available for your project and negotiate the ability to manage vendor resources during the implementation. You want to make sure that you can lock in and/or dismiss certain resources from your implementation partner for a successful implementation.