As data leaders, we often sit at intersections- between product and marketing, between sales and engineering- but purchasing is always at the intersection, and figuring out how to navigate it means figuring out who is in the car with you (View Highlight)
Just because you can’t find the “Purchase Form Checklist” in your organization’s SOP folder on Google Drive, doesn’t mean we need to go right to reinventing the wheel. Ask your peers and managers if they know what the steps are for bringing in a new tool or technology. Your manager is your ally so don’t be afraid to ask for what you need to be successful. (View Highlight)
It was incredibly important to be able to justify the business impact, including cost savings, business efficiency, and possible alternatives. When discussing business impact, it’s important to be pragmatic over optimistic. Don’t only plot out the happy path! Think about the best, most likely, and worst cases (View Highlight)
Nothing is coming into your company without sign off from security and finance stakeholders (View Highlight)
What service does this vendor provide and how will you use them?
What systems will this vendor connect to?
What data will this vendor receive? Does it include PII or customer’s PII? Will they provide a Data Processing Addendum?
How will the vendor receive this data? (e.g. API, FTP, etc)
Does the vendor have any third-party audit reports such as SOC 2?
What is the vendor process in deleting data upon contract termination?
Remember: You are the one making the ask for of the security team, so make it as easy as possible for them to have the information they need to make a quick decision. Companies often have this data available on their website (under a /security page) or upon request. Keep in mind that many times when asking for SOC 2 information, companies will make you sign an NDA first. (View Highlight)
Note: Common security vendor questions
What service does this vendor provide and how will you use them?
What alternatives have we considered?
What will our costs be?
How will we have visibility into or manage consumption spending?
What other investments are required from our side?
Are multi-year agreements available at a discount?
How will our usage/pricing grow at our company’s projected growth rate?
How do we justify the investment?
Who will be the budget owner for this tool? This is often your executive. (View Highlight)
Note: Common finance vendor questions
In the same way that a vendor is selling software to you, you’re selling it to within your organization. (View Highlight)
