Vetting Software Vendors
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I'm working for a company just passing their two year mark. Part of my job is setting processes in place that will help us survive our growth. My latest challenge is out of my league so I'm reaching out to anyone who would care to answer... We have tested a hosted web solution and think it meets our needs, but the company seems to be a little small. By small I mean that you get the same guy when you call support, every time. When we first signed on for the trial I was told that our new accounts would be active once this guy got back from lunch... All signs of a smaller company and while not a source for immediate concern I need to find out how robust they are before we sock all our confidential company data into their system and basically bet our business on their staying in business. So, I'm looking for thoughts on how to proceed. Is there a rulebook for what I should and shouldn't ask, a process to follow, a legally binding document that I could get them to sign that says they'll surrender their source code if they go out of business, etc...
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I'm working for a company just passing their two year mark. Part of my job is setting processes in place that will help us survive our growth. My latest challenge is out of my league so I'm reaching out to anyone who would care to answer... We have tested a hosted web solution and think it meets our needs, but the company seems to be a little small. By small I mean that you get the same guy when you call support, every time. When we first signed on for the trial I was told that our new accounts would be active once this guy got back from lunch... All signs of a smaller company and while not a source for immediate concern I need to find out how robust they are before we sock all our confidential company data into their system and basically bet our business on their staying in business. So, I'm looking for thoughts on how to proceed. Is there a rulebook for what I should and shouldn't ask, a process to follow, a legally binding document that I could get them to sign that says they'll surrender their source code if they go out of business, etc...
devenneym wrote:
Part of my job is setting processes in place that will help us survive our growth.
Perhaps one of those processes could be to do business with other small companies, so that they survive their growth?
devenneym wrote:
they'll surrender their source code if they go out of business
That's called escrow. It's fairly common for "one off" bespoke software, if the original agreement does not allow for supply of source on completion of the project. Most software vendors who are selling a packaged product to multiple companies (which sounds like this case) don't offer it, for the simple reason that the cost of running the escrow is more than the cost of lost sales for not having it. You could always ask them, though.
devenneym wrote:
before we sock all our confidential company data into their system and basically bet our business on their staying in business
But, you would need a contingency plan anyway. There's no guarantee that 3 years down the line the hosting company will still offer a solution that meets your needs, even if they are in still in business.