Platform and Vendor Selection
We help clients enable technology that delivers value at scale.
50% of IT decision-makers are dissatisfied with their current vendors.
CIOs often juggle three primary mandates with any new company: stabilize, transform, and grow. Gravitas can help clients establish plans, assemble teams, and deliver on the CIO roadmap while focusing on the overall vision. When evaluating technology products, platforms, and vendors companies often focus on three key dimensions:
1. Total cost of ownership,
2. Capabilities, and
3. Service levels.
However, the intrinsic user experience in interactions with the product, platform, and vendor may often be overlooked. Imagine selecting a vendor that has a compelling capability set, but has a frustrating invoicing experience that increases the cycle time for your finance team by 3x. On the other hand, imagine a partner that brings their best practices to your organization. Helps you automate your business process through app-based invoice approvals, reducing the cycle time by 25%. Gravitas can help you uncover blind spots and help you select the most value-added offerings.
7+
10+
100+
years
engagements
checklist
of CIO advisory experience
involving the selection and modernization of e-commerce, CRM, ERP, warehouse management, order management, analytics, productivity products and platforms
of criteria to assess modern technology platforms tailored for our clients needs
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING TO ACHIEVE?
Technology sourcing and vendor selection
While the key drivers for vendor selection tend to be capability and price, win-win supplier partnerships are built on the following pillars:
-
Access to capabilities such as cloud, machine learning, and analytics,
-
Exceptional service levels,
-
Flexibility to scale up and down while being cost-optimal.
Gravitas can help you design your sourcing strategy, and establish and manage cost-optimization initiatives.
OUR APPROACH
1. Evaluate the capability needs
Our first step is to understand the client's strategic objectives behind the engagement. For instance, Is it cost-mitigation, is it scalability, agility or all of the above?
We assess the current-state gaps and desired-state capability needs of our clients. We do that by understanding the end-to-end journey and business processes.
​
We then map these desired capabilities in a comprehensive scoring model.
2. Craft strategic RFIs / RFPs
We draft, publish, and manage the RFI / RFP process with inputs from our clients. We have a thorough checklist to assess the vendor's credentials, capabilities, support and security reputation.
3. Evaluate platforms and vendors
We use a comprehensive scoring model to rank the various platforms and vendors. We also manage demos and vendor interactions so that our clients can get a first-hand feel of what a great solution may look like.
4. Present analyses: business case, vendor / platform scoring, and total cost of ownership
Typically, our final deliverable is presenting the analyses to the decision makers. However, in our spirit of delivering outcomes, we can stay engaged through procurement, implementation, and transition / support phases.
FEATURED INSIGHTS
Article
February 21, 2023 - The role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) has become increasingly important in today's digital age. As businesses and organizations rely more heavily on technology, the CIO's agenda has shifted from simply managing and maintaining the company's IT infrastructure to driving innovation and delivering value through technology.