On May 19th, the Chapter gathered around the large table at the Burlington Marriott that has been our home for the past few months. The topic of the day – Buying and Selling ECM.
Buyers and sellers, as well as those on the sidelines a.k.a. innocent bystanders, were sharing insights, experience and their frustration with the process.
After a round of introductions, Dan Antion began describing the purchasing landscape from the point of view of a small company. Dan enjoys the relative freedom of working in a small department and having the budget and authority to make decisions but is also frustrated by the pace at which new software and services are entering the market / changing as he is trying to prepare a budget in September for the following fiscal year.
This frustration was echoed by several people and others mentioned the fact that, within larger organizations, the selection and approval process can actually take so long that the feature sets and options have changed by the time a purchase is approved. The question was raised: “are traditional management practices fast enough?”
One of the people representing a large organization described the problem of “layers of decision making” and how that complicates even minor purchasing decisions. Within an organization, there may be several levels between the ultimate end-users of a solution and the person who can authorize that purchase. With each layer, understanding of the process changes and other factors are brought into the decision. Complicating this even further are the layer that are involved on the selling side of the equations. The solution may be recommended by a consultant, but the service might be provided by another vendor and that vendor may simply be representing a manufacturer. The degree of disconnect can be formidable by the time a deal is completed.
That discussion formed a good segue to Greg Reid’s mini-presentation on evaluating solutions. Greg has been involved with many software/service selection engagements in his consulting career and he shared with the group some concepts, techniques and some spreadsheets to help with the evaluation process. In addition, Greg focused on the objective of getting management on-board with a solution.
Some of the interesting observations during Greg’s presentation are summarized below:
- Numbers and Metrics – The importance of specific costs, savings and production metrics seem to vary from company to company. One of the consultants commented that fewer and fewer people in upper management are overly concerned about ROI these days. This got a little point-counterpoint discussion going between people focused on features and people dealing with tight budgets.
- Pain – One concept that still seems to carry some weight in the selection of new solutions is that of “locating your pain points.” Identifying the problem to be solved remains a good idea before shopping for a solution.
- Risk – Interestingly, the group seemed in general agreement that “fear isn’t selling well” these days. Compliance is still seen as being an important requirement, but the horror stories of “what will happen if you don’t buy a system” seem to be wearing thin.
In general, the group seemed to be focused on finding solutions that address a real need, that are well positioned for growth i.e. cloud and mobile options and where the cost is within reason and benefits are easy to explain.
We also acknowledged that, in many cases, a combination of services, software or Apps with a narrow focus might be combined to replace or be brought in instead of a comprehensive solution that may not fit in all areas.
The discussion was educational and fun, a characteristic that has always been associated with AIIM New England meetings. This summary cannot do justice to the amount of information shared nor the various points of view that were represented. As is usually the case, you had to be there.
Speaking of being there, we will be back at the table on June 23rd for our final discussion of the 2014-15 Program Year. Same time, same table (Burlington Marriott – 3:30- 5:30)