Vendors continue to play a vital role as functional and technical experts in the domains they operate in. Whether it be market structure and conventions, regulatory overhauls or providing connectivity to financial market infrastructures and market participants, a technology vendor is a go-to resource for how to operate most efficiently in a particular market or asset class
Most vendor systems are highly resilient. In fact, the lack of upgrades discussed in our previous post helps them in this regard, because the more changes made, the more likely you are to experience downtime. Most clients value stability above all, so unreliable products simply don’t survive.
It has always been (and will continue to be) the case that a business can get off to a very fast start by purchasing a fully functioning off-the-shelf product from a tech vendor. This makes it an ideal choice for early-stage businesses. Any internal build project will take much longer, require skillsets the client may not have or want, and be subject to the execution risk that comes with tech builds.
Although the subscription model is still nascent, even with a multi-year contract the total cost is known upfront and can be budgeted for. If the client decides to acquire, be acquired, or exit the business the technology cost associated with each option is known.
Having reviewed the good and the bad of enterprise vendor technology to date, in our next posts we will turn our focus to what the future may hold.