MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN BUYING ENTERPRISE AI SOFTWARE 1. COMPATIBILITYIntegration and compatibility are key and Anthony Chen, Director of Special Projects at Flexport, advises that factoring in “integrations and future-proofing is especially helpful for us as we want to experiment with the best ways to pass data around our database / partners.” If a solution doesn’t play nice with your current setup, it’s probably not worth your time.2. FUNCTIONALITYDoes it work? An important subtext to this question should be “does it work without disrupting my current workflow?” The sole purpose of software and automation is to free up our manpower to focus on things that require more creativity and involve less drudgery. If the solution need a lot of engineering time to setup and build features, a closer look needs to be taken on whether the invested extra time is going to be worth the benefits.Vendors that offer pilot programs should be a first choice here as pilot programs are a great way to check just how feasible a certain solution is. A pilot program is like a test-run and involves running the program on a small scale to better understand the large scale implications.3. PRICEThe next and arguably most important factor is the price. How much a solution costs is just part of the picture, how much it costs in comparison to your current solution will tell you whether it’s going to be saving you money or not. A lot of people on a strict budget might want to look at price before anything else since if something’s outside the budget, there’s no point wasting time with it. In contrast, people with a more flexible budget feel price isn’t the most important factor.4. CREDIBILITYIf respectable companies are already using the solutions you’re about to buy, that’s a major positive sign for you. It’s also good to look at companies similar to yours that the vendor has worked with in the past, this could be a good indicator of whether the solution will be good for you or not.5. USER FRIENDLINESSIf everything has checked out so far, it’s time to get your hands on the software or get your engineer’s hands on the software to figure out just how easy it is to use. Greg Bybee, Vice President at NovoEd, emphasizes that“life is too short to work with difficult software.” If a particular tool is too hard to use or requires your engineers to develop additional skills just to use it, you’re probably better off looking elsewhere.6. AGILITYAgility is next on our list and agility comes from innovation. Selecting a vendor is like selecting a partner and you want someone who’s willing to change and innovate in order to stay relevant. Look for a company’s latest updates, see what servers they use, check if they’re using the latest technology like containers or AI and look for how flexible they are with regards to change and innovation.7. EXIT STRATEGYLast but not least, it’s probably a good idea to always have a clear exit strategy in case you outgrow a certain solution. Vendor lock-in is something to be avoided and SnapChat’s reliance on Google’s PaaS is a good example of why an exit strategy is important.