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How do you select the best system integrator for your enterprise software project?
Choosing a system integrator is one of the most important aspects of constructing an ERP project. How do you evaluate integrators to be sure you've made the best choice.
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3 Answers
I have also been on both sides of this situation--hiring an SI and being on the bid/delivery team. There are a number of factors such as reference accounts (the ones you find, not the ones they give you), experience in the domain, and experience as a System Integrator.
However, the biggest issue is the team. Who will be on the team doing the work? Is THAT team experienced, do they get along, will they get along with the customer? This will make or break the project. This is a bigger issue in large SIs where the sales and negotiation processes include a lot of A-team members and then when the delivery team shows up, no one knows each other, let alone the products or domain. Therefore, I recommend clients look at the smaller SIs and understand (even get commitment) on who will be on the delivery team.
Second is domain knowledge—the more knowledgeable the SI in the domain, the higher the chances for success. John’s techniques are good here. Find out if their solution to a business problem is applying technology or applying reason. If it is the former, beware. If they do not understand the domain as well as you would like, look for someone else or budget in the time to get them up to speed. To do the latter will require they have the right people on the delivery team to ramp up quickly.
Cheers,
Todd
Having been a systems integrator myself, I can understand the difficulty in selecting a resource for this task.
It's been my experience that the best integrators are the problem solvers as opposed to the "walking wikis" as we affectionately call technical gurus. While systems integration does require certain hard skills, the ability to identify problems and correct them quickly and effectively is paramount.
One method I find very effective is the situational interview. I like to present an obscure technical problem as well as a business problem to candidates and ask them to explain their approaches to solving them. I'm not looking for specific technical answers in this context, but instead I'm looking to see how they dismantle the situations or needs and assemble solutions. They should have some idea of which groups typically hold the information they need and how to use that information once they get it.
A vendor or consultant proposing to lead an ERP implementation should take time to understand your business processes and operations before presenting a technical solution. The ERP solution should fit into your business model, not the other way around.
I agree with both John and Todd on the critical importance of the specific team members who will be working on the ERP project. Domain expertise is a critical need for a project to start on the right track and stay there.
In addition, I would recommend that a prospective client look at as many references as possible to get an idea about typical budget and schedule performance from this SI. Even the references touted by the SI can speak honestly to this question.
Finally, understand that the SI team and methodology must be a good fit for your business. Your core team for the implementation must be able to devote as much time to the project as the SI's project plan requires. Whether or not the SI is a good fit depends on the SI's ability to build a project plan that works for your business, your current team, and your business contstraints.
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