Having recently completed a 5 month evaluation process of XML - B2B Servers
and vendors, I have some relevant experience in the process of selection to
share. We did the following:
* Evaluated vendors according to their industry participation and
experience (Rosettanet in our case)
* Met with this subset of vendors
* Participated in 3 vendors' proof-of-concepts
* Scored each vendor according to a formal weighted scorecard
* Considered development plans and schedules
* Completed a subjective evaluation
The last item, "subjective evaluation" is very important and I would like to
expand on this. In the fast evolving software industry, products can change
on a daily basis. During our recent evaluations we continually needed to
see the "latest" version of a vendor's product. Our "objective" scorecard
was likely obsolete even before it was finished. This reality led me to
recognize that the "relationship" with a vendor was even more relevant to
our needs than the "daily" feature list.
The ability to cooperate in product development, future feature development,
and priorities are more important to our company's B2B e-commerce success
than a particular list of features in any given day. A relationship, and
channel of communications with a vendor's decision makers is vital. The B2B
/ XML vendor relationship should not be that of buyer/seller, but that of
"partner". The B2B / XML solution vendor is a virtual extension of our
internal IT department. The vendor who recognizes this and delivers based
upon this relationship is worth serious consideration.
0============================0
| Kevin Benedict
| B2B E-Commerce Manager
| micronpc.com
| 208-893-1738
| [EMAIL PROTECTED]
| "The Process is the Product"
0============================0
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