Why It's Important to Assess Vendor Performance

Assessing your existing IT supplier is important for ensuring they meet your business needs and deliver on every contractual agreement. You should regularly check they are maintaining a high level of customer service and controlling costs effectively to help mitigate risks and get the most out of your technology investments.

There are many factors to consider when assessing the performance of your suppliers, improving your vendor-client relationship and ultimately contributing to the success of your business.

Here are some key points to consider when assessing your IT vendor:

Review/Establish KPIs

KPIs (key performance indicators) are important because they form the basis for how the supplier will help your organisation achieve its objectives. KPIs are also effective for comparing the value against the investment.

Defining KPIs based on your objectives is important for three reasons:

  1. It keeps suppliers focused on the areas of the business that matter most to you.
  2. The KPI reports provide you with simple and more focused reports.
  3. It gives you the necessary information you need to assess their results and hold them to account.

Note: if you already have KPIs in place, review them. The needs or objectives of your business might have changed since the KPIs were last agreed, so all your investments should reflect this.

Contractual Obligations

As with KPIs, ensure the vendor meets all contractual obligations and SLAs (service level agreements). The service you pay for is based on what they promised to deliver. Therefore, any discrepancies between what they’ve contractually agreed to deliver and what they are delivering should be promptly addressed.

Note: Contractual agreements differ slightly from KPIs. An SLA is a commitment from the vendor to what they are promising to achieve, whereas as the word ‘indicator’ suggests, a KPI is used to measure how on track the supplier is with reaching the targets.

Costs versus Results

KPIs, as mentioned above, go a long way in telling you the value your vendor gives back to you in exchange for what you are paying them.

Return on investment (ROI) is an important metric with all business spending. Comparing your IT spending with the value you receive in return is paramount, as it enables you to make data-driven decisions, optimise resource allocation, and ensure that your technology investments contribute positively to your organisation's bottom line.

Note: Some results are not quantifiably measurable. Consistency of quality, input in projects and boosted morale and knowledge among staff is immeasurable but each has a huge, positive impact on your organisation.

Innovative Solutions

Assess whether your supplier is bringing innovative and modern ideas to the table. They should be proactive in developing and improving your company’s IT infrastructure, presenting you with solutions rather than problems.

Another positive impact of this is increased scalability. Their innovative solutions will future-proof your company’s digital infrastructure and allow you to integrate new technologies as and when they advance.

Staff Feedback

When it comes to non-quantifiable results such as those mentioned above, a good way to ascertain those vendor qualities is through speaking to those who deal with them regularly. They are the ones who frequently engage with them and should give you their honest opinion about your vendor's reliability, input in meetings, professionalism, technical knowledge and the quality of the work they produce.

"I wanted to feedback, not just how competent he is, but his all-round attitude. He is one of the staff where, if you are working on a project, you will be wanting to ringfence him to be a part of it. I will add that it is not just myself, I have had similar discussions with several other managers at the company." Client review, 2022

Security and Compliance

How does your IT supplier handle your sensitive data? Are you confident they take the necessary steps to keep theirs and your business secure? As a standard, they should at least be Cyber Essentials certified; this is proof that they have the correct measures in place for keeping your data safe.

Note: If your company was hit by a data breach that affected your customers, even though the fault may lie with your IT provider, the blame in the eyes of your customers will all fall on you. Cybersecurity is not to be ignored.

Customer Support

What's their track record in quickly responding to your queries? Do they reliably get it right first time?

Customer support should be a key consideration with any provider. Their ability to respond to your queries swiftly and accurately, providing reliable and effective support, is not only a crucial factor when evaluating an IT vendor but also an essential aspect of the overall customer experience.

Note: A quick or automated response isn’t always a reflection of how good their customer support is. One metric that is deemed more important is the quality of their first response and how long it takes to resolve an issue.

Cost and Budget Management

It’s a necessity that a digital provider stays within budget, however a great vendor will take a strategic approach to controlling costs and optimising your budgets. This means they’ll be proactive in identifying ways you can achieve more from your IT without spending more.

Communication

How regular is communication between your business and the vendor? There may be daily interactions on a technical level between your teams and the vendor, but frequent communications on a commercial level are just as important.

This allows you to analyse all the factors mentioned above and hold your supplier to account. It also allows your teams to escalate important issues that may not be addressed on a lower level.

Note: your IT supplier should be transparent and honest when asked about any aspect of their service. Any reluctance to answer a specific question could be a sign they are trying to withhold information and be a potential red flag.

In Summary..

It's time to evaluate your IT vendor's performance. By assessing them against key criteria, you'll gain a clear, balanced view of whether they're truly delivering the right outcomes for your business, and where improvements might be needed.

We understand the frustration of an IT vendor who just doesn't "get it right the first time." It's easy to fall into the trap of prioritizing familiarity over value, especially when a long-term supplier manages your technology and digital infrastructure.

For over 15 years, businesses have entrusted their technology to our safe and reliable hands. We pride ourselves on the very criteria we encourage you to evaluate: quality, cost-effectiveness, and first-class outputs. Our extensive portfolio showcases our commitment to these principles.

As a trusted partner to several large, chartered institutes and education providers, we excel at aligning people, systems, and processes (PSP) to develop perfectly tailored, fit-for-purpose solutions. We specialize in building bespoke business systems that precisely match your unique requirements, while also expertly supporting existing legacy systems and providing comprehensive outsourced IT management and strategy.

Are you ready for an IT partner who truly understands your needs and consistently delivers?

“If you’re looking for an agency that you can trust, is diligent and hard-working in their approach, and who puts their clients first then I would highly recommend. The team are knowledgeable, challenge back with solutions and deliver first-class outputs in their developments, integrations and end product.” CIPS, 2019