Company is the evaluation of the prospective company/provider as a strategic partner for today and tomorrow. This should include a review of financial results, company direction, and management team. You should do the same review on the company that you would do for any strategic partner.

In the last few years, “survivability” has been a big question because of the consolidation trend that has occurred in the industry over the last 10 years. This has become less of an issue as we have seen some acquirers continually grow acquired software. The biggest examples of this trend are the Microsoft acquisitions, and the Oracle acquisition of J.D. Edwards via its PeopleSoft acquisition. Therefore at Procon, the new question becomes, can the vendor sustain and grow this product as technology changes over the next 10 to 20 years. The answer should be yes for SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft. Is it also “yes” for the vendors that are significantly smaller than the “Big 3”?

Ask the vendor the following:

• How many new sales of your product were made in the last 12 months?
• How much money are you planning to invest in this product over the next 5 years?

By comparing the answer to these, and many other important questions, you will get a good idea who is the strongest vendor.