Making Better Technology and Vendor Decisions

Most technology purchasing decisions are made under time pressure, based on a demo and a proposal. The cost of a wrong decision rarely shows up immediately — it shows up eighteen months later as a contract nobody wants to renew but cannot easily leave.

Evaluate against requirements, not against the pitch

A structured evaluation, scored against requirements defined before any vendor is contacted, produces a more defensible decision than one built around whichever vendor presented most persuasively. It also creates a record that explains the decision later, when someone asks why.

• Requirements and evaluation criteria defined before vendor outreach begins
• Reference checks with organizations of similar size and use case
• Total cost of ownership calculated over the contract term, not the first-year price
• A defined exit path evaluated as part of the decision, not after signing

Contracts deserve as much attention as features

Licensing terms, renewal notice periods, and data portability at the end of a contract determine how much leverage you have later, and are often reviewed less carefully than the feature list. A contract that automatically renews with a short cancellation window quietly removes a negotiating position the following year.

Track whether the investment delivered what was expected

The business case that justified a purchase is rarely revisited after the purchase is made. Checking actual outcomes against what was projected — even informally — is what improves the next decision, rather than repeating the same evaluation gaps indefinitely.