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Rules When Choosing a Technology Partner

October 15 2013

1. Begin with the end in mind

200px ipad confusedThe real estate industry has wasted loads of money on software solutions that have either underperformed or were never adopted by agents.

Questions to ask yourself:

  • What issues am I trying to solve for my brokerage, agents and clients?
  • Can technology really solve my issue?
  • How will solving my problem help me, my clients and my bottom line?

2. Understand the technology partner's solution

Make sure your team does a deep dive on potential technology solutions for your company. You should:

  • See a live demonstration.
  • Understand the administrative tools of the product.
  • Request to run the application for at least a week to understand the software features and test it in a live environment.
  • Ask for case studies of the product used by similar companies.
  • Ask for company references.

3. Ask your potential technology partner these hard questions

  • How will you measure if our partnership is successful?
  • What else will I need to budget for next year? (TCO-total cost of ownership)
  • Is your solution out-of-the-box or do I need customization/configuration?
  • May I please have the supplier's product roadmaps and software maintenance agreements?
  • What's the implementation process and costs?
  • What's the system's reliability and scalability?
  • Is the solution compatible with other software? Does it have open APIs?
  • What are the data security and disaster recovery plans?
  • Who in their organization has access to sensitive data and how is access controlled?
  • Is data secured using SSL and 128-bit encryption?
  • Where will I be in your range of customers?

Like most business executives, you will ultimate rely on your gut. Make sure you do your due diligence, and you'll reduce your potential overall risk.

This article originally appeared on the REAL Trends Blog. Reprinted with permission of REAL Trends Inc. Copyright © 2013

Further Reading

For more questions to ask on specific types of product, see our "Choosing a Solution" series: