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Companies planning to move their mission-critical sales and operations functions onto the Internet face a difficult challenge in selecting partners with the software engineering expertise that is best suited to their needs. With the stakes so high and the competition so tough, finding the right firm may be one of the most important decisions you ever make. Here are a few pointers to help you select the e-business firm that is qualified to help you achieve your Internet goals.
These selection guidelines can be separated into two categories—operational and technical. The operational guidelines address concerns over people, processes and expertise. The technical guidelines address the nuts and bolts of making an implementation work. If you follow these simple rules, you can be confident that your e-business solution will benefit your company well into the future. Operational Know your development team. Nothing can substitute for strong, experienced people. Insist on meeting with the people who are actually going to develop your system. Find out about their work experience, areas of expertise, and the way they like to work. You must have confidence in this team; if not, move on. Know the firm's history. Many e-business developers have grown very quickly through acquisition. This may create a false impression about the firm's capabilities. Talk to references. Don't assume all references will say good things. Talk to previous clients. Find out if their projects were completed on time and on budget. Ask about the developer's technical and business expertise. And most importantly, ask if their systems are providing 24x7 reliability. Understand the developer's expertise in systems architecture. The true measure of a system is not the user interface—it is the infrastructure. Infrastructures must be modular and scalable, allowing companies to add capacity and evolve functionality. A weak infrastructure will render the system obsolete quickly. Choose the firm that
understands the latest technologies. Some firms build all of their customers’
sites using only the technologies with which the developers feel most
comfortable. This can be an enormous disservice to their customer whose
project may really need to utilize a newer and better application. Never
assume that all firms realize the importance of assessing, learning and
implementing the newest industry technologies where appropriate. Integrate your e-business system and back-end databases. Horror stories abound about firms having to hire legions of temporary workers to re-key data from a Web ordering system, and companies irreparably damaging customer relationships by accepting Web orders for discontinued products. Don't get enamored with fancy graphics. An eye-catching front end is important, but most developers can make things look pretty. Invest in substance. Begin with the functional design of your e-business—what it must do to be successful. Then put the wrapping paper around it. Reliability and differentiating functionality are paramount. If your system crashes, your business may, too. Build a scalable e-commerce system. E-commerce requires systems that support vast numbers of arbitrary customers. These customers expect Web access to product information and availability, order status and history, account maintenance and increasingly personalized service. Giving customers what they want—and expect—is critical to growing your e-business. Make certain your new system can grow with your business. Have all supporting supply-chain infrastructure in place to truly realize e-commerce. Automated supply-chain management (including order fulfillment, inventory control, shipping, manufacturing logistics, procurement, etc.) is vital to a successful e-commerce business model, and creates an e-business experience that satisfies customers prompting them to return. Learn more about why you should choose us>>
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