"For smaller projects, the money, risk scope, etc. that the benefits of a single vendor offer in terms of integration, simplicity, and ease of coordination outweigh the benefits of avoiding the conflict of interest," says John Baschab - John Baschab

John Baschab, author of "The Executive's Guide To Information Technology," advises companies to look very carefully at support policies before they leap into doing business with a vendor. It's worth having a conversation, perhaps several, about what's involved in support, including how to contact support after working hours, how the product might interact with others in the company's mix, and how long the vendor expects to support the product after an upgrade or new version appears. - John Baschab

One of the best first steps is in physically bringing together the people who should be having conversations about strategic initiatives. For this, it's usually helpful to create a steering committee that's composed of IT representatives and other executives. John Baschab, author of "The Executive's Guide to Information Technology," recommends that the committee be composed of five to 10 company managers who can provide the most comprehensive input into the IT decision-making process. Typically, this would include the IT director, the CEO or COO, and business-unit leaders from areas such as accounting and HR. - John Baschab

The first step in staffing effectively isn't only looking at what's needed—it's figuring out what already resides in-house. John Baschab, author of "The Executive's Guide to Information Technology," suggests doing a swap analysis to identify where personnel gaps exist. - John Baschab

“Generally, the customer is hoping to satisfy a set of objectives and solve historical problems but the supplier doesn’t get the full picture due to the rigidity of the RFP process,” - JON PIOT