Where Do You Go for Independent Advice?

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A firm in Europe was recently considering the collaboration tools they made available to staff. The firm had a pilot implementation of SharePoint, and some people had trialed an internal, behind-the-firewall micro-blogging service (think “Twitter for the enterprise”). To drive a more strategic view of what tools to choose going forward, the firm commissioned an external consulting group to undertake an independent review of collaboration requirements, and then to recommend which tools to embrace. Once the consulting group completed its interviews and workshops, they wrote the final report and recommended SharePoint. The steering committee for the project was taken a back, and said “You have basically gone from a set of requirements to the recommendation to use SharePoint. What gives?”

My contact at the firm shared the final report with me, and asked for my input. I scanned the report, looked up the consulting group Web site, and immediately spotted the problem. I wrote back, “You chose a Microsoft Gold Partner to do the review, one with significant SharePoint experience and no relationships or expertise in other collaboration tools. It was a prejudiced recommendation from the very beginning. Of course they were going to recommend SharePoint; they were never going to recommend anything else.” Let’s be clear that the firm in this case hasn’t made a unique mistake; it happens all the time.

Hence the first rule of product evaluations: If you want a vendor-independent recommendation on collaboration tools, don’t chose a vendor-dependent provider to write the recommendation. They will recommend what they know best and what they would use to meet the requirements if the firm chooses to work with them going forward. And actually—that’s what you should expect from vendor-aligned consulting firms—such a response is normal and natural. In some situations, getting a vendor-aligned consultant to go through the analysis process and write the report is exactly what a firm wants, because it gives them an opportunity to see how the consulting group works, how well they dig into understanding the business, and how well they form productive relationships with people across the firm. If the consulting group is good at all of those steps, and they think the product they offer will meet the requirements, you have the foundation for a good business relationship going forward.

Equally, sometimes you really do want an independent review of the options, and a recommendation from an external expert about what’s the best product or service for your requirements. Key things to look for include deep product knowledge with the absence of vendor relationships, a policy about not doing vendor funded work, and a history of recommending a variety of collaboration tools from different vendors, depending on the circumstances. Two firms that I rate high on these dimensions are analysts CMS Watch and Burton Group.

So my question to you is: Where do you look for independent advice, and is independent advice about collaboration tools still important at your firm?