As the largest privately held technology provider in the world, Infor has undergone a unique evolution. Originally focused on software ranging from ERP to CRM (and most things in between), Infor began purpose-building its software for specific industry niches and packaging these vertical solutions into its CloudSuite offerings.
When looking at Infor in the cloud, there are several things to consider as you assemble the best possible deal.
Multi-tenant environment.
If this is part of your requirements, make sure Infor has similar multi-tenant environments in production for the products you are buying. Infor’s M3 ERP solution, for example, is not currently live in production in a multi-tenant environment.
Bundled offerings (beware).
Infor frequently bundles many products that clients may not need. Approach with caution and right-size any bundled offerings to make sure you don’t pay too much over time. On the flipside, understand the motivations behind Infor’s bundled offerings and use to your advantage. For example, Infor is working hard to gain market share with Birst BI (Business Intelligence) platform and the vendor commonly adds this to the bundle. If you have an existing BI tool, you may not need Birst or, if you see value in Birst, you can use that as leverage during negotiations.
Third-party implementation resources.
Implementation costs are high and Infor’s rates include a premium. There are strong third-party System Integration firms that can be investigated as an alternative.
Standard SLA terms.
SLAs and the credits for down time should be a keen area of focus. As the standard contract is written, the economic penalty for the system being down is very low, so look to strengthen this.
Clauses that protect you down the road.
There are a variety of “future-proofing” stipulations that should be optimized in your Infor agreement as a best practice. Areas of focus include assignment, organizational re-sizing and warranties.
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