A major technology purchase is one of the highest-stakes decisions a growing business makes. The contract runs for years, the cost of getting it wrong is significant, and almost everyone advising you has something to sell.
I used to write those proposals. Now I read them for the buyer, with nothing of my own to put in front of you instead.
When people come to me for this
Usually there is already something on the desk. A quote that looks reasonable but you cannot tell what is missing from it. Two platforms that both demo well. A renewal that auto-rolls in six weeks. An integrator who has been helpful right up until the moment you asked for the exit terms in writing.
The common thread is not a lack of information. It is that the information all comes from people with a stake in the answer, and you have no way to weigh it.
What you can buy
Assess
Scoped to your business, fixed fee, a written report you keep.
Guide
What to buy and who from. Requirements, shortlist, contract review.
Oversee
Someone else delivers, and you have someone on your side of the table.
Run it
Running it day to day: a fixed-price service for small setups, a partner at scale.
What actually happens
I start with requirements, written down, before anyone is asked for a number. Most bad purchases trace back to a scope that was never fixed, so every vendor answered a slightly different question and the comparison was meaningless from the start.
Then the vendors get compared against that scope rather than against each other’s marketing. I read the contract, specifically the term, the exit cost, who owns your data and how you get it out. That last part is what matters when the relationship goes wrong, and it is the part that gets skimmed.
If you want, I stay involved through delivery, on your side of the table, which is a different job from managing the project for the vendor.
Where to start
- Upgrade and migration planning Migrations fail on scope and dependencies, not technology. Scope fixed before quotes, a rollback point agreed before cutover, and someone reading the proposal who used to write them.
- Website and search assessment Whether your site, hosting and search presence match what your business actually needs, judged before anyone quotes you a build.
If you would rather try the method before you talk to me, the vendor evaluation scorecard is the same method I use myself: nine criteria, each scored out of five and weighted by you. It will not tell you what I would tell you, but it will show you where the gaps in a pitch are.
If a decision is already in motion, book a 20-minute technology conversation and bring the proposal. Twenty minutes is usually enough to tell whether it needs a closer look.