Software Is Strategic, SIs Tactical

Saskatchewan's Social Services Ministry's Path To Modernization
June 22, 2010
By: Gene Leganza, Vice President and Principal Analyst
with Alex Cullen and Mimi An

(Excerpt from the Software Is Strategic, SIs Tactical Report)

A Late Tweak To The Six-Stage RFP Process Surfaced The Most Significant Differentiator

A final tweak to fully evaluate product issues. Saskatchewan’s evaluation put the two RFP finalists neck-and-neck regarding the functionality checklist.3 But the team was unclear on the level of effort the vendors put into getting the scripted demos to work.  The ministry needed clarity on this to get to the bottom line on two key product criteria: out-of-the-box functionality and a product design that reflect an offering built from the ground up for human and social services rather than ported from another vertical.  For the best-and-final-offer stage, the team added a second demo requirement that dictated using a rack-mounted server and shrink-wrapped software.