Let’s face it, one of the primary reasons cloud application adoption has taken off in recent years is due to the fact that these solutions are often sold directly to the line-of-business (aka LOB) users. We’re seeing a few trends. First, these business users are actively seeking out solutions on their own, sometimes with little to no input from their I.T., procurement or legal teams until after they’ve made a decision regarding which solution they’d like to adopt. Sometimes these other groups aren’t even aware that a purchase has already taken place. Secondly, cloud providers logically tend to target line-of-business users because it lends itself to both speaking directly to those feeling the pain the solution is meant to resolve, as well as faster deal cycle times (typically line-of-business users are less likely to question legal clauses, SLA’s and integration approaches). No real big surprises here.
It should be noted though that there is a benefit to the cloud provider to not be overly zealous about involving groups that can potentially slow down or completely derail the sale of their solution; sometimes based on key factors that could impact the organization on the whole (particularly around risk reduction). Integrations and support, legal clauses that protect the buyer, and contract terms that could see the price impacted are all things that tend to muddy the waters when it’s time to put pen to paper. The perspective/approach has been to sell to the line-of-business so that they can in turn push their internal groups to support the decision to buy the solution.
As a customer, be weary if a cloud provider is hesitant to support you bringing in your extended I.T., procurement and legal teams to the discussion. For you, it’s certainly in your favor to take ownership of how quickly the transaction will be completed by ensuring that you’ve got all the right internal partners supporting the decision. Going in with your eyes wide open alongside the perspective/experience of your internal teams will make you well equipped to negotiate finer contractual terms that may very well impact your ROI and overall success with the solution being considered.
