Evaluating Intranet Software
I was asked today by one of our potential American clients to evaluate our own offering against three other specific intranet software products that he provided.
This confirmed to me how difficult it is for a normal company to understand what each vendor really offers. Websites and collateral are confusing and hard to make sure you are comparing like with like.
Chosing an intranet provider
In this particular case it was relatively easy as the other products were very lightweight. But my advice to this particular customer was, as it always is :
1. Be clear in what you really think you need
2. Provide that list then organize a webinar for each vendor to show how they would provide the functionality required.
3. Take up references on the top 2
4. Try to leverage open source expandability. Whatever you think you need, and however careful you are in establishing what a particular intranet vendor provides – you requirements will change over time and open source extendable intranets, with complete APIs, provide a great way to make sure the framework you select will continue to be appropriate for your needs.
I would also put some significant weight on the relationship side. Is the company fun to work with? Are they responsive? Do they have clear ticketing systems and escalation procedures if you find any bugs? Do they offer choice of operating systems, databases and deployment models?
It’s a tough decision – but focus on major issues, get them to show you what you need – and it becomes manageable.
Very good tips about choosing an intranet product, the same principle can be applied to choose any web-based apps vendor.
I also believe that you can separate vendors by their selling technique. Some of our existing clients have told me how comfortable they were with our approach leading up to the sale, and in comparison to some of the other vendors, we were by far the most approachable and open.
Claromentis takes a personal and un-demanding approach to sales.
We don’t push a hard sale, we won’t call you every month just because you signed up for the demo site, and we won’t attempt to coax you in with stories of “end of month discounts”, “last sale to reach my target” and other erroneous sales techniques.
I think our approach goes a long way towards displaying our confidence in the software and pricing.
We don’t have to push the sale, we don’t have to spend thousands of pounds on a dedicated sales team to harass anyone and everyone who visits our website, and we’ll always go out of our way to ensure that we are available to deliver all of your questions and queries regarding the software.
And don’t forget the online demo’s and POC’s we offer.
All in all, choosing software isn’t just about the software it’s self, it’s about the professional service and support that goes with it. Something that in my opinion is definitely worth considering right from the start.