Tech Time: Best practices for selecting a new core provider
Timelines, deal breakers (and makers) and project leadership are crucial to a successful selection process.
When your consulting practice is built on helping credit unions improve their technology, one of the best things you can do is to learn from your own mistakes, particularly if that makes things better in the future. We’ve learned a few things in managing technology assessments and contract negotiations over the years that really help smooth the process when dealing with vendors.
If your credit union is considering issuing a request for proposals for a new core system or another major technology vendor, consider some of these ideas.
1. Timeline, timeline, timeline.
Starting the core selection process too late really puts your team at a disadvantage, and the process of going through an RFP, choosing a vendor, negotiating a contract and getting on the implementation schedule generally takes a lot longer than most management teams think it will.
For a core system selection, the rule of thumb we use at Remedy is to start the project 36 months before the contract ends with the current core provider. If you are simply planning to renew a contract with your current provider, start the process no less than 24 months ahead of the current contract end date.
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