Elements involved when selecting platforms.

When considering replacing platforms in your ecosystem, here are some key elements to keep in mind.

Alignment between Business and Technology Strategies:

Whilst it could be the understatement of the century, it is imperative the business and technology strategies are synchronised. The ecosystem is to facilitate and enable the business vision, provide the technological grunt to bring to life its missions.

Evaluating Your Current Ecosystem:

Begin your platform selection process by gaining a comprehensive understanding of your existing technology ecosystem. Identify gaps and redundancies, this analysis serves as a foundation for making informed decisions about what changes or improvements are needed.

Stakeholders, users and their use cases:

Capture requirements in full, but this does not mean being an order taker, if something doesn’t make sense dig deeper into why it’s been requested, achieve clarity through use cases – theme them into buckets and phases (single customer view, compliance, personalisation, automation, operations, governance, next best action, risk management, omnichannel, AI et al), invest the effort and time with being super clear on the various use cases as they will provide the markers you’ll use when plotting your path. 

Technical Debt:

Technical debt can hinder progress and efficiency. Be sure to identify and address any technical debt that may impede the success of your ecosystem. One of the most critical areas to balance especially the trade-offs that are needed.

Effective Ways of Working and Governance:

It is essential to review ways of working and governance to support your platform initiatives. Even the best technology can and will likely underperform when poor ways of working and governance inform how the ecosystem is being brought to bear.

 Time to Value:

Define clear trade-offs, milestones, timelines, and success metrics for your program. Be prepared for potential delays and incorporate buffers into your plans to accommodate unforeseen challenges.

Data:

Data is as valuable to a business as diamonds, diamonds have its 4 Cs – Cut, Clarity, Colour, Carat. Well, for mine, data also have its own Cs, and data goes one better with 5 Cs ­– Capture, Correct, Complete, Current, and Compliant. Data traverses through an organisation and permeates into every corner, be sure to calibrate your actions based on a clear understanding of how well your business has been able to track across each of the 5 Cs.

Budget vs. Business Requirements:

Budget considerations are important, they should not overshadow your assessment of which platform provider best meets your business requirements. Focus on the platform that aligns with your goals, as it will ultimately drive ROI and business growth. Additionally, understand and factor your current contractual obligations, for example, how many days till the contract ends? What are the data extract options? What are the extension options without committing to a renewal if you need more time? All these questions are important to how you manage the process.

Vendor Performance Reviews:

Reviewing vendor performance are vital to ensure that your considering relevant providers. Platforms evolve, and vendor performance can change. Resources like G2 and Forrester provide valuable insights from user reviews.