E-Book: 10 Steps To A Successful Smart Services Evaluation

By Randy Thompson

Have you ever heard the story of the blind men and the elephant? In the story, six blind men were asked to determine what an elephant looked like by feeling different parts of the elephant's body.

The blind man who feels a leg says the elephant is like a pillar; the one who feels the tail says the elephant is like a rope; the one who feels the trunk says the elephant is like a tree branch; the one who feels the ear says the elephant is like a hand fan; the one who feels the belly says the elephant is like a wall; and the one who feels the tusk says the elephant is like a solid pipe.

A successful remote service solution has the potential to impact business processes in every part of a company. Like the blind men, the perception of remote services will depend on each stakeholder's own goals and perspective of where value is created.

Based on my experience with software evaluations over the past 7 years, I offer 10 suggestions for conducting a comprehensive evaluation of remote service solutions.