Selecting the right partner can be the difference between success and failure for technology-driven initiatives. Businesses and institutions make dozens or hundreds of technology and service provider selections every year. Most don’t follow a rigorous process or involve all the right people in the decision. Many go with an old standby rather than canvas the field for a provider with the right capabilities, cultural fit, and technology ecosystem.

To help, Forrester has integrated its extensive portfolio of research and best practices for technology leadership clients into a new solution blueprint to select the best partner for you. This blueprint draws on our extensive best practices and our tons of experience in advising clients with their partner selection initiatives — and of course, the hundreds of Forrester Landscape reports and Forrester Wave™ evaluations that augment that expertise. This blueprint will help you assemble the right team, follow the right process, narrow the provider options, and begin the contracting process.

The process includes four steps:

  1. Establish a multistakeholder agreement for the selection process. After following the three activities in this step, the selection strategy, team, and business case are ready to go.
  2. Build a plan to choose the right provider. After completing the activities in this step, your selection process is laid out, with clear steps, templates, and processes.
  3. Choose a shortlist of providers to assess. After this step, the RFP is complete, and you are ready to send it out to a shortlist of providers.
  4. Assess providers and make a first choice. The three activities in this step help you score the responses, make a choice, and propose a candidate. You are ready to review, confirm, and begin negotiating the contract.

Forrester clients can use the selection blueprint on their own; they can engage Forrester analysts in a guidance journey to make the right selection with the help of our subject matter experts; and they can accelerate their process with the help of Forrester Consulting. Don’t hesitate to reach out if we can help!