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June 04, 2008

What you should watch out for when purchasing an Electronic Document Management Solution

Where do I start? The list is so long!
Over the next few weeks or maybe months, I will reveal a list of potholes on the road to successful document management solutions.

Over the years, I have witnessed and been involved in many Electronic Document Management implementations ranging from 2 user systems to 5000+ user systems. Some went really well, some I would like to forget, and some were unbelievable. Believe it or not, I actually noticed a few things along the way. I probably missed a lot of things too. I am confident that this list is not complete so I would like to hear your war stories as we progress and I will add to the list of gotchas.

1. Industry Analysts

I am amazed at how many people pick a solution from a quadrant or list without asking the person or team that compiled the list, how many solutions have they actually implemented with the vendors on the list? What do you think the answer would be? I have my answer, please give me yours. Another question might be what criteria were used to determine the list?

Many lists are based on vendor sales volume. Does sales volume = a good solution? It could. But, it might just = a great sales and marketing team. Sometimes the list maker also takes into account the technology... based on the vendors website and brochures. Hmm... does that really count?

What should you do? Talk to several people that you know or someone they know that have implemented various solutions, spend time with them to learn about the following things at a minimum:

- What was the problem they were solving?
- What product did they buy and why?
- Who did they have perform the implementation and why?
- What problems were encountered during the implementation?
- How were the problems resolved?
- How many change orders were there?
- What were the skills of the implementation team?
- How long did the implementation take?
- What was their budget for the project?
- How much over budget did they go?

Once you have done that, define what you want accomplished in as much detail as possible. If you can not define it, your vendor will not be able to deliver it, unless you give them flexibility in the services component of the contract.

If you do not choose the right vendor and product you will have to work hard to ensure a successful implementation, it will not happen by itself and in most cases the vendor is probably not going to ensure you get everything you want.

Finally, be open to new ideas and methods of delivery that may save you time and money.

Posted by Dave on June 4, 2008 09:40 PM

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