By Patrick O’Neill, Founder and President, Redhand Advisors
Every organization has different needs when it comes to selecting a RMIS solution. Is it cost, ease of use or vendor support? Our RMIS survey shows that organizations focus on functionality, ease of use and customization as their top priorities. While these are important, focusing on the following three priorities will help you whittle down the options more easily, and before you know it, you’ll have selected your RMIS vendor of choice. Good luck!
- Functionality and configuration
So many organizations start by fielding demos and looking at those bright, shiny objects in the software — which is ultimately a misguided approach. In reality, top-tier vendors today check off most of the boxes when it comes to functionality and are highly configurable. Core features are typically the same across the board, but many organizations focus on them at the beginning of their search.
When it comes to features, resist the urge to focus on the bells and whistles, and instead make it a goal to lay out the business outcomes and objectives you are pursuing and have vendors address how the software can help achieve those goals. If the software doesn’t help your organization reach its objectives, eliminate that vendor’s product from your list.
2. Cost
Most organizations will say that vendor selection isn’t about cost, but let’s be realistic: Cost matters. Crucial to the cost discussion is proper communication about what you are looking for in order to get accurate proposals. If you aren’t clear about your goals/objectives, number of user licenses, integrations and data sources, you’ll likely get a generic proposal that won’t meet your needs and could incur additional costs down the road.
The same applies to clarity about the business processes you want the system to handle. In each case, you’re trying to avoid finding out down the road that what you really needed costs more. So don’t eliminate a more expensive software option right off the bat that could have handled the scope of the project more easily.
Finally, it’s worth noting that vendors landing significantly outside the range of cost proposals shouldn’t be automatically eliminated. Analyze the value that the solution provides and the potential return on investment, then make your decision.
3. Vendor stability
Vendor stability should have a significant impact on your final decision, even if it isn’t the first step in the process. You need to be confident that the vendor will be there to support you and provide ongoing upgrades and enhancements to the product well into the future.
When considering vendors, don’t assume a long-tenured one will automatically be the most knowledgeable or best fit. Conversely, don’t rule out new players in the market right away based on time served. Many of the newer entrants into the market offer competitive solutions and similar core capabilities.
To that point, the leading vendors of RMIS solutions a decade ago are completely different than those today, highlighting how quickly the competitive landscape can change. Consider the following points when analyzing each vendor’s stability:
Go deeper than company financials. Many of the vendors are privately held and will not disclose financial information during the sales process. However, there are still ways to get a sense of the company’s health. Ask the following questions:
- How many new customers have you added in past 12 months?
- How many customers have you lost in the past 12 months?
- What is your employee turnover rate over the past two years?
- Do any legal actions exist that involve your company?
- Describe your business and performance measures for your organization.
- How much are you investing in R&D annually as a percentage of revenue?
- What is your ownership structure? And when was the most recent change?
Check references. Ask for references and gather opinions about their services in the industry. Do your own research and identify clients who can provide feedback, considering any industry affiliations and local RIMS members that you may know. A vendor who is facing serious business challenges, such as lack of new sales or poor customer satisfaction, could be distracted and it may be an indication of a more serious issue to consider when making your decision.
With the proper focus throughout the preparation phase and search for a RMIS vendor, you can select one more efficiently, experience better long-term outcomes, and get your business to the implementation stage more quickly.
Schedule an inquiry call with Redhand Advisors to learn more about vendor stability and the other factors you should consider when selecting RMIS software to help your business grow.