TrendView™ Report 
Guiding Principles for Selecting IPM Systems

Intellectual Property Management (IPM) is a critical practice area for corporations and law firms. The expanded stakeholder contingent and more complex processes are driving companies and law firms to evaluate their IP practices and supporting information technologies. 

Based on our work with both corporate law departments and law firms we have identified a number of critical success factors that organizations should consider in selecting their IPM solutions. In this TrendView report, we discuss our guiding principles for successfully designing, implementing and managing IPM system selections. By taking a well-informed, structured approach to their system selection initiatives, law firms and corporate law departments can develop deploy IPM systems that delivers both strategic advantage and favorable returns on investment. *Please complete the below form to receive our recent survey report on selecting IPM Systems*


Guiding Principles in Selecting IPM Systems

The review and selection of vendor partners can be a complex and time-consuming task. We recommend that clients consider the product's features and capabilities, as well as the company's strengths, in their selection process. Clients should use a comprehensive set of criteria to determine their best vendor-partner fit. These criteria should include the vendor's existing features, future product roadmap, company stability, ease of deployment and user adoption success. 

To assist our clients in their IPM system selection process, we have developed the following guiding principles: 

• Start with a well defined set of user needs and requirements - in reviewing the IPM market, we encourage clients to use our Key Solution Components. These should be considered a minimum set of capabilities and a starting point for developing the client's specific list. We find that many IPM selection projects lack the understanding of business processes and requirements, in sufficient detail, that are required for a successful vendor selection.

• Understand your organization and change management considerations – for most organizations a new IPM system will mean converting from an existing system. Often the legacy system has been in place for a long period of time, and the organization has become accustomed to the way the system works. Despite the need for change, we often find that not everyone sees things from the same perspective. It is critical that the selection process properly include stakeholders and “give a voice” to those who will consider themselves most impacted. Equally important the selection process should not become overly protective in avoiding needed change—while some may resist at first, a well selected system will drive operational improvement to everyone’s benefit. 

• Use your system as a driver of performance improvement and process transformation – the ultimate value of technology is in improved productivity and decision support advantages provided to the staff, clients and other stakeholders involved in the IPM lifecycle. Oftentimes because of their technology dependence, an organization’s work processes, policies and procedures can lose their efficiency or effectiveness. The new system selection and implementation should be tightly aligned with improvements to processes and how the organization works. While it can be time consuming, the investment in assessing processes and properly working in to the system selection process will pay off significantly.

• Understand the vendor's licensing model and pricing - purchasing software involves a number of important, interrelated considerations: license type, usage scope, maintenance and support, installation location, and license fee calculation, are all critical dimensions of the software purchase. We find a range of practices amongst vendors in the IPM software market. While no model is inherently advantaged or disadvantaged, licensee-purchasers are well advised to understand their vendor's approach and how this might impact their business objectives. 

• Closely scrutinize vendor references - the IPM market is covered by many vendors. Company size (large or small) and market reputation (good or bad), may be considerations but should not replace direct client references. References will provide added perspective, and should allow for clients to ask questions and gain better understanding of experience in working with the vendor. 

• Review the vendor's business plan and financial condition - the IPM market is accurately considered a niche area. Unlike other technology areas - such as ERP, CRM and financial systems - that are dominated by the likes of Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP, the IPM market vendors are comparatively small. Those products operated within large companies may nonetheless be businesses of relatively comparable size to stand alone IPM vendors. Clients should ask specific financial plans about the IPM software business specifically, including revenue and R&D investment. 

• Understand product development approach and history - while current features are important, your vendor relationship will be long term. Clients should consider the roadmap for new features and the vendor's history of new releases and on-time record. Clients should also understand the process for defining enhancements and how they are made available. Importantly, clients should understand whether new enhancements are included as part of their license or support. 

• Evaluate implementation capabilities and options - the success of a new system is determined by the success of the implementation and user adoption. While features drive product selection, the vendor's demonstrated experience and success in implementation is a critical consideration. This includes setup, infrastructure, configuration, data conversion and training. Clients should be open to considering in-house implementation (it may be a red flag if a vendor will not allow client's internal resources for implementation) or the use of an external implementation consultant. No other category of technology is more manifest in its configuration of the processes that drive it – it is critical that implementation activities focus on the “use” of the system at least as equally on the “installation” of the system. 

• Understand support, maintenance and the resources needed to properly maintain the system – the post-deployment operational consideration of a new system are as important as the selection and implementation. The approach and capabilities of a vendor can vary greatly, and must match the client’s standards. Clients should understand the upgrade process and the cost of upgrading including vendor costs and staff costs (for example, IPM country rules must be upgraded quarterly; not to mention upgrades and new modules). An increasingly important consideration is hosting or Software as a Service (SaaS), and clients should understand and consider both the operational and cost considerations in the various infrastructure options. 

Additional Information 

See our other related research in this area.

·         MarketView Report: IPM Systems for Corporations (provides a review of leading IPM systems)

·         MarketView Report: Workflow Systems for IPM (focus review on workflow tools)

·         TrendView Report: Successful 2011 Legal IT Budget Planning

For additional information, visit Hyperion Research at www.hgpresearch.com or contact Ralph Schroeder, Managing Director, at ralph@hyperiongp.com

Disclaimer

This report was written and produced by Hyperion Research, a unit of Hyperion Global Partners, Inc. This report is provided under controlled distribution and is not generally available to the public.  We only provide this report to named individuals for the intended purpose. No redistribution or sharing rights are allowed without written permission.

This report and other information published by Hyperion Research are the opinions of Hyperion Research. Errors or inaccuracies may exist. Vendor related information may or may not come directly from the vendor itself. Reports are often the result of compiling information from multiple sources. We disclaim all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information, and accept no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The reader assumes sole responsibility for the selection of these materials to achieve the intended results. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.

In exchange for receiving this report, whether paid or free, you acknowledge and agree to these terms.

Copyright © 2009-11 - Hyperion Global Partners, Inc.  All rights reserved.