How To Select A Software Partner Solution Offering

Amid a backdrop of vendor consolidation, open standards, dynamic apps, and new deployment options, no one software vendor can deliver innovative solutions that meet every industry vertical, business process, market segment, and geographical requirement. Consequently, major software vendors like IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP are encouraging their partners to innovate on their platforms, fill existing gaps, and ultimately help drive long-term customer loyalty. The result: Each of these large software vendors now has a vast partner ecosystem filled with solutions at varying levels of integration, support, and quality. Through interviews with 59 vendor companies and 129 customers, Forrester has developed a partner solution maturity model. Business process and applications professionals can use this model when selecting a partner offering to complement their existing solutions from one or more of these software giants.