Evaluate the vendor before the vendor evaluates you.
What should an IT vendor evaluation include? Five things, weighted for your situation: fit to the actual requirement rather than the demo; total cost over the term including exit; risk, meaning security posture, financial stability, and dependence; contract terms, especially renewal, price escalation, and data return; and references from organizations like yours, not the three the vendor chose. A template makes the comparison consistent across vendors so the decision can be explained afterward.
Why most evaluations go wrong.
Four habits tilt the decision toward whoever sells hardest. The template is built to reverse each one.
| Where it goes wrong | What the template does instead |
|---|---|
| The vendor supplies the criteria. | A requirements sheet written before anyone is contacted, so the shortlist is measured against your needs, not their feature list. |
| The demo answers questions you did not ask. | Twenty questions you put to every vendor in the same words, including what happens when something breaks and when you leave. |
| The references are curated. | A reference-call script that asks for a customer like you and one who left. |
| The contract is read after the decision. | A contract checklist for renewal terms, price increases, data return and exit, used before the shortlist is final. |
Five criteria, weighted for your situation.
Every vendor, including the one you have now, is scored on the same five areas. The weights below are a starting point; change them before the first demo, not after.
| Criterion | Starting weight | What it asks |
|---|---|---|
| Fit to the requirement | 30% | Does it do what you wrote down, for the people who will use it, not what the demo showed? |
| Total cost over the term | 25% | Licenses, implementation, support, price increases and the cost to leave. |
| Risk | 20% | Security posture, financial stability, and how dependent you become. |
| Contract terms | 15% | Auto-renewal, notice periods, escalators, data ownership and return. |
| References | 10% | Organizations your size, in your industry, including one that left. |
What is in the template.
A requirements sheet
Written before any vendor is contacted.
A scoring matrix
Across five areas, with weights you set.
Twenty questions
That separate vendors from each other, including the ones about what happens when you leave.
A reference-call script
That asks for a customer who left.
A contract checklist
For the clauses that cost the most later.
A word on independence: this template was written by an advisory that is sometimes compensated by providers its clients select, and that discloses it every time. It is built so that a vendor who compensates us and a vendor who does not are scored on the same sheet. How we're compensated.
Get the template.
Delivered by email as an editable document. One email with the template.
If the evaluation is already underway.
Send us the shortlist, or the proposal you are leaning toward, and we will tell you whether it is fair.
How many vendors should be in an evaluation?
Three is usually enough to see the spread; more than five and the comparison stops being rigorous.
Should I tell vendors they are being scored?
Yes. The ones who object are telling you something.
What is the most overlooked criterion?
Exit: what it costs and how long it takes to leave.
Should the incumbent be scored too?
Yes, on the same sheet. Staying is a decision with its own cost and risk, and scoring it keeps the comparison honest.
Does the template work for choosing an MSP or IT provider?
Yes. The criteria are the same; the questions about response times, escalation and who actually does the work matter more.
Get the template, or get a second opinion.
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