Technology Selection
Why Technology Selection Matters
There are ample reasons which might prompt you to address your technology stack. You might be facing immediate challenges if your current system is becoming out of date, ineffective, obsolete or at risk of no longer being supported by the vendor. Or perhaps the need is more of a desire for continual improvement and strategic alignment; put simply, having the right technology for your organisation to operate and compete effectively. The need for technology selection consultants can be vast and intimidating.
New technology solutions are landing every day, and established players are delivering continuous changes and developments to their technology offers. Most of these providers claim their solutions can do everything, and that it all works ‘out of the box.’ It makes it hard to keep up and understand what is best for your organisation and your people. Organisations need to find the right partnership and the right terms, with full transparency.
If you don’t know where to start or are daunted by either a lack of market knowledge or the scale of the investment, then don’t panic. Sometimes you need an independent view, from someone with a tried and tested approach, who can partner you through this journey. This is where our technology assessment consulting services come in, providing expert guidance and support. A reputable technology assessment consultancy can help you navigate the complex landscape of technological solutions and make informed decisions aligned with your business goals.
At Nine Feet Tall we put the buyer in control so that your digital transformation delivers against your specific strategic objectives.
The expertise and insight that you all brought played an instrumental role in ensuring the project was delivered smoothly, within the agreed timeframes, and within budget. That’s an exceptional achievement for a project of this scale. The improvements to our processes, the efficiencies and cost savings and the enhanced supporter experience will make a significant difference in helping us to raise more funds to continue our vital work.
Sarah Allen-Gunn
Director of Fundraising & Communications,
St Peter's Hospice
Key Steps to a Successful Technology Selection Process
We will work closely with you to develop your vision and create a compelling business case. Our bespoke methodology means you are always in control, we simply guide the way.
Technology Assessment
Is your existing technology stack working for your business needs? We have helped clients to assess their existing stack through our unique technology assessment framework. We will provide recommendations and develop an Outline Business Case describing the options available to you.
Business Case
From here we would expect a senior stakeholder steer for a preferred direction and work towards creating a Full Business Case, collaborating with vendors to get estimated implementation cost and timeframes. We will capture your detailed requirements and your current ways of working through “as is” process mapping. We will then conduct a detailed cost benefit analysis to present the potential ROI. Supporting the full business case would be a forward roadmap and project resource planning recommendations.
Vendor Selection
Once a decision is made, we will help you move to the Vendor Selection phase to shortlist options and select the right technology. The new solution needs to fit with your strategic direction, IT setup and capability. Above all, there needs to be a good cultural fit and clear expectations to ensure the partnership between you and your technology vendor and SI partner works smoothly. We’re independent and vendor agnostic, so we can focus on getting what’s right for you.
Addressing Baseline
The final stage of the Technology Selection process will address your baseline. Here we would support you to finalise the commercial investment, seek final approval and formally set a baseline from which to measure success and move to procurement.
How We Work With You
We have a host of happy clients who would be happy to talk about their experience with Nine Feet Tall and verify our knowledge and insight of industry best practice solutions. Together we have navigated challenges for technology implementations to help get a sense of not just the technology, but also the change transformation and implementation journey.
We help clients with the more formal selection process and will lead you through the RFI, RFP or RFQ which enables you to independently assess functional fit as well as compare price. It is a good way to establish early on what really is out of the box and what requires customisation as this will help you manage scope creep, timelines, and budget.
Cut to the Chase
Creating a compelling case for change is not as easy as it sounds.
How do you articulate the relevant information concisely through a coherent, robust and convincing business case?
Download our free guide to focus on the key elements of a compelling business case, and avoid the pitfalls.
Frequently Asked Questions
A business case should be digestible and convincing. The goal is to present the relevant supporting information concisely and be clear on recommendations. Smaller technology selection projects may run to a few pages. For larger projects and complex business change programmes, the business case will be large. Be mindful of how your audience consumes information and include any supporting information in an appendix.
There are many, so be cautious and well prepared on your vendor selection journey. Like any complex project of programme, it is important to take time to plan before leaping to a solution or simply copying a solution you’ve seen elsewhere. Other pitfalls include:
Poorly defined requirements can lead to delays and confusion, it is important to define what you need upfront.
The wrong levels of governance can affect momentum and decision making. We’d recommend finding “just enough governance” and making sure this is stated in the business case.
A lack of agreed performance metrics which can make it tricky to know if you are on track or if optimisation is needed.
Not having an IT roadmap which details any integration points and dependencies.
Things change fast, with all the current global uncertainty and changes in customer demand and expectation it is important to take stock of current processes and technology to make sure they are still delivering for your organisation. A technology assessment is an important opportunity to stop, look around, and see where you are. You will see where vulnerabilities lie, where systems could better communicate with each other, and where you can streamline.
In short, it’s to verify your gut feel that your technology is holding you back. The purpose is to explore your current stack and assess if what you have is fully utilised and allows you to deliver your business strategy. Our Technology selection consultants will identify any gaps where you could be saving money or simplifying processes to improve efficiency. Through our comprehensive technology assessment consulting services, we can help you understand your current technological landscape and determine the best path forward to align your IT infrastructure with your business objectives.
Technology assessment is the process of evaluating your current technology to independently assess if it is fit for purpose or if any changes to the current technology would address the issues faced. Technology selection is the process of creating a case for change within a full business case, going to market and entering the vendor selection and procurement process to buy new technology.
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