Vendor Evaluation Matrix

Criteria (weighted)

• Functional fit — does it do the job for your use case
• Total cost — including migration and internal ops
• Time to value — realistic weeks to production
• Risk — vendor lock-in, security posture, roadmap stability
• Operational cost — who runs it and at what load

Score each vendor

1-5 per criterion, weighted. Force separate scoring by 2-3 people before comparing — otherwise the loudest opinion wins.

Build-vs-buy line

Include 'build in-house' as a row. Compare on the same criteria. Most buys look worse against a real build estimate than the sales deck suggests.

Reference checks

Talk to two customers off the vendor's list, and one you find yourself. The self-found one is the most honest.