In our personal lives, we usually have a simple and streamlined approach to buying things, like something nice from ThinkGeek. But when the scene shifts to the business world, the process for purchasing assets like a Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution is typically much longer and more complex. According to research by Gartner, in organizations with 100-500 employees, an average of 7 different people are involved in a single buying decision.
As you know, getting everyone to understand the strengths and weaknesses of various IT solutions is challenging. Everyone has their own perspective and agenda. And unfortunately, some people take security and governance seriously only after the organization has been hacked — which is kind of like taking your health seriously only after a doctor says that everything is wrong with you.
And that brings us to this month’s poll question: what are the top factors that influence your software buying process?
Post your answer in the comment section below, and also list the factors in order of importance (i.e. Which factor is the most important, the second most important, and so on).
Some Ideas
To spark your thinking, here are some possible factors that might influence the buying decision in your workplace (these are just suggestions!):
- Feature Sets: When buying something, it’s ideal to have all of the features you need — or at least all of the essential ones.
- Support: There’s nothing more frustrating than waiting, waiting and waiting to get answers to your questions.
- Price: While it shouldn’t be the only factor that matters, price is always going to be an important part of the process. After all, it doesn’t matter how great a potential IT solution is if the cost is unjustifiable or unsustainable.
- Vendor Reputation: Buying an IT solution from an untrustworthy vendor is like buying a Rolex watch from a guy in a raincoat on the street. Just don’t do it.
- Marketing: Some vendors drill you with aggressive marketing and try to pressure you into buying something RIGHT NOW. This is a red flag. Vendors should equip you with information and align with your timeline.
- Preferences: The solution you need won’t be a solution — it will be a problem — if it’s not relevant and intuitive for everyone that is going to use it.
- Reviews: Reviews are an increasingly important part of the evaluation process. Of course, it’s important to separate authentic reviews from phony ones.
You Could Win
By sharing what the buying process looks like in your environment, you’ll automatically be entered to win a $25 Amazon gift card to treat yourself! We’ll randomly choose two lucky winners at the end of the month when we post the results.