Scaling API-first – The story of a global engineering organization
Technology Purchase Process by Specific Tech Solutions
1. I D G C O M M U N I C A T I O N S , I N C .
Q U A L I T Y
M A T T E R S IDG COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
QUALITY
MATTERS
Exploring the Technology Purchase
Process by Specific Tech Solution
Insight from 2019 Customer Engagement Study & 2019
Role & Influence of the Technology Decision-Maker Study
2. I D G C O M M U N I C A T I O N S , I N C .
5.99
5.39
5.31
5.2
5.15
5.06
4.98
4.87
4.85
4.68
4.52
4.46
4.45
Enterprise Software (non SaaS)
Networking
Telecom
Enterprise Software (SaaS)
Mobile Applications
IT Services
IoT Devices
Cloud Computing
Data & Analytics
Servers/Storage
Security
Desktop/Laptops
Web Applications
Buying Cycles by Technology
2
Q. What was the length of the buying cycle for each purchase? (In Months)
Source: IDG Role & Influence of the Technology Decision-Maker Survey, 2019
AVERAGE
LENGTH OF
PURCHASE
PROCESS
4.9 months
3. I D G C O M M U N I C A T I O N S , I N C .
Q U A L I T Y
M A T T E R S
Driving Technology Additions
3
Q. Thinking about each purchase, please indicate whether this was an additional technology (not a replacement),
a full replacement of an existing technology, or an upgrade of an existing technology.
Source: IDG Role & Influence of the Technology Decision-Maker Survey, 2019
22%
23%
28%
28%
29%
30%
41%
42%
43%
46%
50%
52%
60%
46%
35%
32%
33%
40%
32%
26%
28%
27%
32%
29%
30%
19%
31%
42%
39%
38%
31%
38%
34%
30%
30%
22%
21%
18%
21%
Networking
Desktop/Laptops
Enterprise Software (SaaS)
Telecom
Servers/Storage
Enterprise Software (non Saas)
Cloud Computing
IT Services
Web Applications
Data & Analytics
Security
Mobile Applications
IoT Devices
Addition (not replacing existing technology) Upgrade of existing technology Replacement of existing technology
4. I D G C O M M U N I C A T I O N S , I N C .
Q U A L I T Y
M A T T E R S
Reasons to Seek New Vendor
4
Q. What prompted you to seek a new vendor for the following purchases? (by technology)
Source: IDG Role & Influence of the Technology Decision-Maker Survey, 2019
Security
Cloud
computing
Enterprise
software
(SaaS)
Servers/
Storage
IT
services
Networking
Enterprise
software
(non SaaS)
Data &
Analytics
Desktop/
laptops
IoT
devices
Telecom
Web
apps
Mobile
apps
We have never purchased this type of
product or service before
41% 49% 39% 35% 37% 26% 19% 38% 19% 53% 25% 37% 59%
Current product/service no longer met
our business needs
24% 29% 39% 37% 27% 37% 40% 28% 21% 9% 60% 37% 33%
New initiative request from Line of
Business executives
26% 32% 35% 26% 31% 22% 36% 43% 14% 53% 33% 33% 28%
Current product/service did not meet
our security requirements
41% 26% 23% 30% 19% 23% 31% 15% 29% 22% 13% 23% 31%
Current product/service did not align
with our digital transformation efforts
15% 25% 32% 33% 23% 28% 43% 32% 12% 31% 30% 29% 15%
Increased cost/level of investment
required by current vendor
15% 14% 9% 30% 11% 26% 17% 12% 29% 13% 33% 8% 13%
Our IT team does not have the skills
necessary to work with current
product/service
10% 12% 11% 22% 22% 17% 24% 14% 10% 13% 10% 12% 10%
Metrics in service level agreement
were not being met
12% 10% 19% 19% 13% 17% 17% 9% 12% 16% 15% 12% 13%
Poor customer service 8% 2% 9% 17% 11% 15% 14% 3% 14% 9% 33% 8% 15%
Current vendor no longer seems
financially stable
14% 10% 3% 17% 6% 17% 12% 3% 5% 9% 10% 4% 5%
1 2 3Key
5. I D G C O M M U N I C A T I O N S , I N C .
Q U A L I T Y
M A T T E R S
Factors That Cause Vendor Abandonment
5
Q. Which marketing-related factors would cause you to abandon a vendor when doing research throughout the tech purchase process?
Source: 2019 IDG Customer Engagement Survey
Security Cloud
Enterprise
Software
(SaaS)
Servers/
Storage
IT
Service
Networking
Enterprise
Software
(Non SaaS)
Data &
Analytics
Desktop/
laptops
IoT
Devices
Telecom Web Apps Mobility
Aggressive/persistent sales
follow-up
58% 61% 64% 64% 61% 62% 67% 64% 66% 57% 67% 63% 64%
Too promotional & self-serving 46% 51% 56% 46% 57% 48% 52% 61% 52% 53% 57% 59% 46%
Too many requirements to
download content
47% 44% 47% 48% 48% 45% 47% 38% 46% 45% 47% 43% 40%
There is not enough content
available to do research on my
own
44% 42% 43% 46% 47% 42% 42% 44% 40% 49% 33% 38% 43%
The content is not clear 35% 38% 39% 39% 40% 37% 36% 34% 40% 29% 31% 38% 38%
Difficult site navigation 40% 32% 32% 38% 34% 39% 34% 33% 44% 35% 44% 39% 36%
Majority of the content is gated 37% 38% 43% 36% 37% 33% 37% 34% 35% 47% 32% 40% 39%
Level of expertise within the
written content is not at the
right level
33% 36% 33% 35% 35% 29% 33% 32% 25% 29% 31% 34% 31%
Content pages (blog,
research, etc.) have not been
updated recently (over three
months)
25% 27% 24% 29% 29% 28% 30% 34% 28% 22% 27% 33% 34%
6. I D G C O M M U N I C A T I O N S , I N C .
Q U A L I T Y
M A T T E R S
How Emerging Vendors Prove Their Viability
Q. What is the best way that a vendor can prove their viability? (EMERGING vendors)
Source: 2019 IDG Customer Engagement Survey
Security Cloud
Enterprise
Software
(SaaS)
Servers/
Storage
IT
Service
Networking
Enterprise
Software
(Non SaaS)
Data &
Analytics
Desktop/
laptops
IoT
Devices
Telecom Web Apps Mobility
Show evidence that their
products/services
stand out from the
competition
42% 37% 43% 40% 39% 43% 39% 40% 42% 31% 36% 39% 39%
Provide detailed product
information
34% 33% 33% 40% 33% 38% 39% 37% 37% 43% 34% 37% 26%
Provide references from
past customers
29% 27% 33% 32% 35% 29% 35% 31% 34% 25% 33% 30% 28%
Provide case studies/proof
of concept
22% 29% 25% 28% 29% 27% 32% 24% 19% 20% 30% 20% 31%
Submit to testing or
independent evaluation
31% 30% 24% 23% 26% 26% 27% 30% 24% 33% 27% 28% 28%
Provide insight into product
road maps/future plans
26% 30% 33% 24% 27% 23% 31% 29% 21% 24% 28% 33% 19%
Show evidence of strong
financial performance
20% 22% 25% 18% 28% 17% 26% 25% 22% 22% 24% 23% 15%
6
7. I D G C O M M U N I C A T I O N S , I N C .
Q U A L I T Y
M A T T E R S
7
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Notas do Editor
Q.5: What was the length of the buying cycle for each purchase?
Overall, the average length of the tech purchase process is 4.9 months. The technology that has the longest buying cycle is enterprise software non-SaaS (5.99 months) which makes sense because in order to fully implement non SaaS technologies, IT leaders must understand who is going to manage the software, how it will integrate with their current infrastructure, the security requirements tied around it, and once non SaaS is installed it is very cumbersome to change. Desktops/laptops have a shorter sales cycle (4.45 months on average, and 37% of purchases take less than one month) which is no surprise because these are not new technologies, and for the most part do not affect the entire organization too severely so there may not be too much review process through multiple teams. Also, with the exception of some specialized industries, desktops/laptops are commoditized, have a low price point, and are easy to swap out which may also result in a shorter sales cycle. Security tools also have shorter sales cycles than the average (4.5 months) and this may be because organizations are anxious to secure their data, assets, tools, etc. that they expedite the process for security solutions.
5.4 months – enterprise
4.3 months – SMB
Industry differences are in the appendix
Q.2: Thinking about each purchase, please indicate whether this was an additional technology (not at replacement), a full replacement of an existing technology, or an upgrade of an existing technology.
Looking at this chart it is clear that the technologies that have been around for a long time are not likely to be implemented as additions; rather they are likely to be added as upgrades or replacements. For example, desktops/laptops and enterprise software. Due to the newness of Internet of Things, it is no surprise that 60% of IoT purchases were made as additions in the past two years. With mobile applications constantly changing and the variety of the applications, this is also no surprise that 52% of the mobile app purchases are additions. In the 2017 survey, 53% of cloud applications were made as additions and 42% of security solutions were made as additions. This year it seems as though these two technologies have swapped places. Exactly half of security purchases made in the past two years were made as additions, this could be because organizations feel they are not as protected as they should be; therefore willing to invest in new solutions. Additions may also be necessary because the threat and risk landscape is constantly changing so new security tools and services are needed to keep the business secure. With cloud computing moving down in the additions rank, this shows that organizations already have their cloud platform in place. We also see that cloud solutions are being purchased for replacements of existing technology (think networking tools and enterprise hardware).
The top technologies that expect to be purchased as upgrades are networking tools (46%) and servers/storage (40%). This is not a surprise because these are legacy tools that continue to get reinvented year over year – for example, SD-WAN, 5G etc. for networking. And the fact that there is an increasing popularity for servers and storage over the cloud.
Q.4: What prompted you to seek a new vendor for the following purchases?
Interesting to note is that when an organization has more IT influencers throughout the purchase process, 29% say they seek new vendors because their current product/service did not align with their digital transformation efforts (compared to 25% overall). When an organization has more LOB influencers, 37% say they seek new vendors because their current product/service no longer met their business needs, compared to 31% overall and 28% for those with more IT influencers.
Q.12: Which marketing-related factors would cause you to abandon a vendor when doing research throughout the tech purchase process?
Q.29: What is the best way that a vendor can prove their viability?
There are some differences on how to prove technology for emerging vendors as well. 43% of IoT focused decision-makers would like detailed product information (43%), compared to only 33% for emerging cloud vendors. It’s also important for SaaS and web apps emerging vendors to provide insight into product road maps/future plans (33%), while this is only 21% for desktops/laptop emerging vendors.
If you are an emerging IT services organization, it is important to show evidence of a strong financial performance (28%), compared to only 15% for emerging mobility vendors.
