Decoding 700+ Olive RFPs to help organizations make unbiased, data-backed IT decisions.
Q2 2024
Technology Selection Data Report
Introduction
Businesses are under pressure to adopt new technologies quickly, but the urgency often leads to costly mistakes. Superficial evaluations, lengthy processes, high costs, and biased reviews cause tech implementations to fail at a high rate.
Here’s why the current system is failing:
- Lack of Depth: The “get me the best” approach often results in superficial evaluations that don’t address the full scope of business needs.
- Lengthy Processes: Traditional approaches can take years from start to implementation, leaving businesses with outdated solutions.
- High Costs: Outsourcing to IT consultants can be expensive and may not result in significant time savings or better outcomes.
- Biased Reviews: Market comparison websites are often influenced by vendors paying for higher rankings or initiating biased reviews.
At Olive, we know how these failures can be beyond frustrating. That’s why we built a solution to streamline the IT buying process.
We’re currently helping companies like yours source software 3x faster. And as a trusted solution for top organizations, we have access to unique data and insights on how your peers are making major IT decisions.
In this Technology Selection Data Report, we analyzed data from 700+ real RFIs and RFPs completed by your peers to create this report, featuring unbiased insights to guide your IT decision-making.
By coupling our reports with the powerful tools in the Olive platform, you can choose the right solutions for your business faster and with confidence.
Chris HeardOlive CoFounder & CEO
What’s inside?
Insights from the most research software categories on Olive (e.g. ERP, POS)
Top requirements organizations want in their software
Which vendors you should consider—and which ones you should avoid
Key Takeaways and Highlights
ERP, HCM, CRM, LMS, and POS are the most researched categories across Olive customers.
Some big players in each category have a high market presence but a low selection rate. This shows that marketing can’t always buy the business!
AI is a commonly hyped feature today, however, it ranks low on actual requirements that are being included in RFPs. That being said, it is the fastest-growing search term in 2024.
The top two requirement themes are data and reporting. People are acutely aware that they are sitting on a gold mine of data, they are pushing all of their tech vendors to give them clear and actionable insights from this data.
After data and reporting, integration and configuration are key. This shows that companies are struggling with connecting all of their disparate systems and demanding that vendors provide integrations out of the box.
Unlock this report for deeper insights
Top Requirement Search Terms
Terms like “data” and “reporting” emerge as pivotal pillars in organizational requirements, reflecting the growing emphasis on data-driven decision-making and comprehensive reporting capabilities.
Meanwhile, terms like “integration” and “mobile” highlight the demand for seamless connectivity and mobile accessibility in today’s digital landscape.
What are the most searched requirements when sourcing new technology?
Technology Selection Data Reports
Understanding the available options is crucial as you choose the best solution for your organization.
Our data analysis provides a comprehensive overview of various category solutions, examining their inclusion percentage in RFPs against their shortlist rate to the final two.
By exploring these metrics, you gain valuable insights into each solution’s performance and acceptance. Solutions with higher shortlist percentages consistently meet evaluators’ criteria, making them suitable for consideration.
Additionally, the percentage inclusion metric reflects broader industry adoption and acceptance of each category solution. Higher inclusion rates signify not only functionality but also a deep understanding of diverse business environments.
JUMP TO:
Insights from 59 ERP RFPs
Insights from 51 HCM RFPs
Insights from 33 CRM RFPs
Insights from 30 POS RFPs
Insights from 22 LMS RFPs
About Olive
Olive is an end-to-end technology evaluation platform for consultants and IT buyers. Manage even the most complex technology evaluations for your clients or organization in one platform—all without bias or influence.
With Olive, you can collaborate on requirements with key stakeholders, quickly evaluate solutions, and manage and store your work for reuse on other transformation initiatives.
Streamline your RFP process with Olive
Research Methodology
Data collection
We collected data from over 700 (RFPs) submitted by organizations across various industries. This data came from Olive’s platform, where users submit RFPs and vendors respond. RFPs were anonymized to protect the confidentiality of participating organizations.
Data analysis
Our team conducted a thorough analysis of the collected data, focusing on key metrics such as:
- Commonly used requirements: Identifying the most prevalent features and functionalities requested by organizations.
- Top vendor categories evaluated: Understanding the primary categories of vendors considered in RFPs.
- Vendor inclusion vs. shortlisting: Examining which vendors are frequently included in RFPs and how many progress to the shortlisting stage.
- Statistical methods were used to identify trends and patterns within the data.
Objective evaluation
Olive’s research team agreed upon specific criteria for evaluating the data, which ensured objectivity and relevance in the insights provided. The team also ensured consistency and accuracy in interpreting the data.
Validity and reliability
Validity: The data collected directly reflects the real-world RFP processes of organizations across different industries. By analyzing a large sample size of 700 RFPs, we can draw valid conclusions about common trends and patterns in technology evaluations.
Reliability: Our methodology ensures the reliability of our findings. Data was collected from a standardized process within Olive’s platform, reducing biases and errors. Additionally, statistical analysis enhances the reliability of our insights.
Limitations and Considerations
Sample bias: The data collected represents organizations using Olive’s platform, which may not fully represent the entire market. However, Olive’s diverse user base mitigates this limitation to some extent.
Scope: While we analyzed a large sample size of 700 RFPs, the findings may be limited to the specific technology verticals and industries represented in our dataset.
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