As an IT leader, you're always looking for game-changing technologies, tweaking old solutions, or looking to replace something. This is the never-ending IT buying cycle. And Tech Pro Research's expert analysis, original research, and ready-made tools can help you at every step in the process.
We've broken down the buying cycle into five stages: Discover, Investigate, Compare, Justify, and Optimize. Content across Tech Pro Research is mapped to these buying cycle stages, and an icon representing the relevant part of the cycle is attached to every piece of content. Using these icons, you can quickly find resources based on the stage of the cycle that you're in at any given time.
Here is where you are constantly scanning to find developing technologies that could potentially transform your business and/or replace an existing product that is holding back your company. You track news, keep up on vendor health, and discover new players and products.
Once you target technologies that could have an impact, it's time to take it a step further and do some homework. At this point, you're getting interested in acquiring a technology but still have work to do before you make a decision.
Once you decide that you want a new technology solution, it's time to start evaluating and comparing vendors and products. This stage is all about reading product evaluations and learning what your peers have to say about working with various products and vendors.
Businesses need real returns on technology and the executives who make technology decisions need to convince the folks with the budget to make a move. This stage is about reading case studies and evaluating potential ROI.
Once you've purchased a technology, the process turns to making a smart implementation, getting your staff up to speed, and continually optimizing and updating to make the solution run like clockwork.
If you're in the Discover and Investigate stages and looking for data on an emerging tech product, our research reports and analyst briefings can help you better understand the technology, find out who's already using it, and cut through the vendor hype.
As you move closer to purchasing a new technology and enter the Compare and Justify phases, our ready-made checklists, calculators, and toolkits will help you select the best products and vendors and then articulate your decision.
Once you've implemented a technology and are in the Optimize stage, our comprehensive ebooks, sample policies, and in-depth guides will help you get the most out of your product.
But remember, the IT buying process is a cycle. If you get frustrated in the Optimize phase -- either because a product didn't live up to expectations or is no longer meeting your needs -- you cycle back to the Discover phase, where you start scanning for a new, better solution.
If you have any questions or suggestions around the buying cycle and how it can help you get the most out of technology for your business, please contact us here.