Happy Earth Day! by Tommy Clark | CC By 2.0
Like death and taxes, every enterprise software-focused CTO will encounter a Request for Proposal (RFP). RFPs usually manifest as a spreadsheet full of dull, repetitive questions such as “Is there a security incident response team with defined roles and responsibilities?” Or perhaps, “Please provide information technology and security organization charts.” RFPs can also vary in size; we’ve seen them anywhere from 50 questions to over 2000. Regardless, most CTOs view requests to fill out RFPs with a mix of resignation and dread.
RFPs can be painful for many, so I would like to explore the silver lining that comes with creating them in the context of software products.
Better Visibility into Security/Compliance Needs You Didn’t Think About
The value of an RFP is exclusively dependent on the strength of the engineering questions being asked. The more specific, the better (who doesn’t love talking about their own product?). But two other needs often get overshadowed: compliance/risk management needs, and operational needs. Taking the time to sit down and go through as many compliance and disaster scenarios as possible is a small price to pay for some of the vulnerabilities that can be exposed; the same goes for operational FAQs. Brainstorming operations-related questions can uncover glaring flaws in complicated processes that ultimately drain millions in revenue every year.
Help Ensure Your Own Build Alleviates These Needs For Others
As tough as it is to sit down and create hundreds of “hypothetical” FAQs, the other reward is that your software organization now has a starting template for building effective RFPs for other companies. Your company’s security needs will likely overlap with many other companies’ security needs, so consider it busy work that is already done weeks ahead of an actual proposal.
Improved Efficiency of the Sales Process
When the sales team suddenly has a major potential opportunity with a new customer, you no longer need to drop everything your engineering team is doing to cater to the potential client, either. A carefully crafted RFP eliminates redundant questions and explores more relevant scenarios that come up for buyers. “We can help you, here’s our RFP” is the sign of a sales team that did its homework, and this leaves a strong impression early in the sales cycle. No one likes being interrogated so that it’s easier to sell to them. It’s always a better conversation with an RFP ready to go from the outset
A Staff-Centric Approach to Large Projects
Many RFPs are thousands of questions long and take months to fully develop. For larger RFPs, companies should dedicate a staff team to support the process. This team might even include a project manager that schedules regular team meetings, assignments with deadlines, and brings in representatives from the technical and operational disciplines to help answer questions. After a while, it hits you that this is how the messy, highly technical challenges should be handled from here on out.
The bottom line: RFPs are a nuisance, but they make companies so much smarter at doing business. I hope that this set of recommendations helps you push through (and even find actual value from) RFPs the next time you find yourself face to face with that giant spreadsheet of questions.
Jason Shah
CTO
Jason Shah, a “Flyer” since 2010, is responsible for cutting-edge product development and engineering for the enterprise software company. His duties include overseeing all elements of product development, platform and integration engineering, platform security, customer delivery, and product marketing.
Comments are closed.