A Buyer’s Guide To Business Software

Whether you’re looking for business software to replace an outdated system or find a new way to streamline an inefficient process, the hunt for the right tools can be challenging.

Where do you begin, who is involved, and how can you be sure that your search will be successful? Read on to know how to go about choosing the right business software tools.

Organize Your Stakeholders

To begin with, getting your stakeholders in order is a smart move. Every member in your company who has a stake or influence over software selection should be counted. These usually include your team members, team managers, security team, tech team, and your customers. Keep track of which team members are involved and when you’ll need their feedback during the selection process to make it as seamless as possible for you and your stakeholders.

How to Choose Your Software Needs

Now it’s time to decide what you want from your new software in terms of features, functionality, workflow, and so on. Whether you’re an experienced or a first-time buyer, list down what you would like to achieve with the new system. Once you’re done evaluating your options, run it past a fresh pair of eyes to ensure you’re focusing on need-to-have functionalities. This should help you create a substantial list of what you want.

Where to Find Business Software?

When it comes to finding a vendor, each software program requires a different approach. While some have well-known vendors, others require deep research and are discovered by various sources. If you don’t have a vendor in mind, conduct a quick search on Google. You can also check out software comparison sites and visit business networking sites, like LinkedIn to find out which software other companies are using.

Choose the Software You Want to Demo

Once you have the vendors list in hand, start contacting the ones you’re interested in. Make sure your list has at least 10-15 options on it. Reach out to as many as you can and if these vendors offer a demo, take it. A demo is a great way to find out if the software is a good fit for your business. During the demo, ensure you ask lots of questions and gather as much information as possible to make an informed choice.

Software Vendor Evaluation

After the demo, shortlist 3-5 vendors who stand out as your favorites. If you have more than 5 options on your list, be brutal. This is because you can’t do a free trial for all of them. When evaluating your vendor, keep the following points in mind:

– Pace your free-trial and avoid testing every piece of the software at once.

– Pre-plan your test flow to ensure the system does what you need it to do.

– Prepare your team for the trial and get feedback.

– Ask the vendor as many questions as possible.

– Test how good the customer support team is.