In all my years of working with enterprise-grade B2B software vendors, I had never encountered a vendor that didn't offer their customers a mechanism in which to obtain their data from the software purchased. Sometimes this ability is served by robust REST API with thorough online documentation, and other times it's an ultra-basic "Download CSV" button on the software's front-end. Hopefully to no one's surprise, the ability to access one's own data is must-have for any enterprise that makes an investment in data and analytics to enable better decision-making capabilities and improve security posture. But what are some of the other must-have features of enterprise-grade B2B software? In this post, we'll take a deeper look into the top 5 features of enterprise-grade B2B software and provide you with the questions you should ask the vendor to reveal and evaluate the presence of each.
1. Scalability and Performance
Large enterprises require solutions that can easily scale to accommodate a growing number of users, devices, and data. The application should be able to handle high volumes of traffic and deliver consistent performance without degradation as the user base grows.
Questions you should ask the vendor:
- Architecture: What kind of architecture does the software? Is it based on microservices, serverless, or a monolithic design? Microservices and serverless architectures tend to be more scalable and resilient compared to monolithic designs.
- Load balancing and auto-scaling: How does the application handle load balancing and auto-scaling? Are there mechanisms in place to distribute the workload evenly across multiple instances, and can the system automatically scale up or down based on demand?
- Performance testing and monitoring: Can the vendor provide benchmark results and case studies from performance testing of their application, particularly under high load conditions? Do they use real-time monitoring tools to proactively identify and resolve performance bottlenecks?
- Caching and Content Delivery Network (CDN): How does the application leverage caching and CDN services to reduce latency and improve performance for users in different geographic locations?
- Database scaling: How is the database designed for scalability? Is it capable of handling large amounts of data and traffic without affecting performance? Can it support horizontal scaling (adding more machines) and vertical scaling (adding more resources to a single machine)?
- Multi-region and multi-cloud deployment: Can the application be deployed across multiple regions or cloud providers to ensure high availability and fault tolerance? This can help maintain performance and reduce latency for users around the globe.
- Throttling and rate limiting: How does the application handle API requests and other resource-intensive tasks? Are there measures in place to prevent excessive usage from impacting overall performance?
- Data partitioning and sharding: Does the application support data partitioning or sharding to distribute data across multiple storage systems, thereby reducing the load on a single system and improving performance?
- SLAs and uptime: What are the vendor's service level agreements (SLAs) for performance and uptime? Can they provide historical data on their application's performance and availability?
By asking these questions and reviewing the vendor's responses, you can better assess the scalability and performance capabilities of B2B software as a potential customer, ensuring it meets your requirements as your organization's user base grows.
2. Security and Compliance
B2B software must provide robust security measures to protect sensitive enterprise data and maintain regulatory compliance. This includes features like data encryption, role-based access controls, multi-factor authentication, and regular security audits. Additionally, the application should adhere to industry-specific compliance standards such as GDPR, CPRA, HIPAA, or SOC 2
Questions you should ask the vendor:
- Security certifications and standards: Is the vendor compliant with recognized security standards and certifications such as ISO 27001, SOC 2, and GDPR? These certifications indicate that the vendor adheres to established security best practices and has undergone independent audits.
- Data encryption: How does the vendor protect data at rest and in transit? Do they use strong encryption protocols such as AES-256 for data at rest and TLS for data in transit?
- Access controls and authentication: How does the vendor manage access to sensitive data and application features? Do they offer role-based access controls, multi-factor authentication, and single sign-on (SSO) options?
- Vulnerability management and patching: How does the vendor handle vulnerability management, including timely patching of security vulnerabilities and regular security testing (e.g., penetration tests, vulnerability scans)?
- Data privacy and residency: How does the vendor ensure data privacy and compliance with data residency requirements? Can they store customer data in specific geographic locations, and do they have procedures in place to handle data subject requests as required by regulations such as GDPR?
- Incident response and breach notification: Does the vendor have an incident response plan in place, and are they committed to notifying customers promptly in case of a data breach?
- Security monitoring and logging: How does the vendor monitor for security incidents, and do they maintain logs to support incident investigations and audits? Are these logs protected from tampering, and can customers access them if needed?
- Third-party risk management: How does the vendor assess and manage risks associated with third-party service providers and integrations? Do they have a vendor risk management program in place?
- Business continuity and disaster recovery: Does the vendor have a comprehensive business continuity and disaster recovery plan to ensure data availability and application uptime in the event of a disaster or system failure?
- Employee training and security awareness: What measures does the vendor take to ensure that their employees are trained in security best practices and understand their responsibilities in maintaining a secure environment?
By asking these questions and carefully reviewing the vendor's responses, you can evaluate the security and compliance capabilities of B2B software as a potential customer, ensuring that it aligns with your organization's requirements and risk tolerance.
3. Integration and Interoperability
Successful B2B software should be able to easily integrate with other enterprise systems and tools, such as a data lake, CRM, ERP, or project management software. Offering well-documented APIs, pre-built connectors, and other integration options will enable seamless data flow between systems and increase adoption.
Questions you should ask the vendor:
- API documentation: Does the vendor provide comprehensive and up-to-date API documentation, including clear explanations of available endpoints, authentication methods, request and response formats, and usage limits?
- API standards and protocols: What standards and protocols does the vendor use for their APIs? Are they based on widely-used standards such as REST or GraphQL, and do they support popular data formats like JSON or XML?
- Pre-built connectors and SDKs: Does the vendor offer pre-built connectors, SDKs, or libraries for popular enterprise systems and tools, such as CRMs, ERPs, or project management software? This can significantly reduce integration effort and time.
- Integration marketplace or ecosystem: Does the vendor have an integration marketplace or partner ecosystem where customers can find ready-made integrations and add-ons for various third-party services?
- Webhooks and event-driven architecture: Does the vendor support webhooks or event-driven architecture to enable real-time, asynchronous communication between systems?
- Customization and extensibility: How customizable and extensible is the software? Can customers create custom integrations or modify existing ones to meet their specific requirements?
- Integration support and best practices: Does the vendor provide support for integration-related issues, and do they share best practices or offer guidance to help customers with their integration projects?
- Data synchronization and transformation: How does the vendor handle data synchronization and transformation between systems? Are there built-in capabilities to manage data mapping, conflict resolution, and error handling during the integration process?
- Security and compliance: How does the vendor ensure that the integration process is secure and compliant with relevant regulations and industry standards, such as GDPR, CPRA or HIPAA?
- Integration success stories and case studies: Can the vendor provide case studies or examples of successful integrations they have implemented for other customers with similar requirements?
By asking these questions and carefully reviewing the vendor's responses, you can evaluate the integration capabilities of B2B software as a potential customer, ensuring that it can be effectively integrated with your existing enterprise systems and tools for a seamless data flow.
4. Customizability and Flexibility
Enterprises have unique requirements and workflows that may not align with the out-of-the-box features offered by B2B software. The ability to customize the application to meet specific business needs, either through configurable settings or custom development, is crucial for adoption by large enterprises.
Questions you should ask the vendor:
- Configurable settings: To what extent can the application be configured to meet specific business requirements? Can customers modify settings related to workflows, data fields, user roles, permissions, and other aspects without requiring custom development?
- Custom development options: If out-of-the-box features do not meet the customer's needs, does the vendor offer custom development services, or do they have a partner network that can provide such services?
- Extensibility: Does the application have a modular architecture that allows for the addition of new features or functionality through plug-ins, add-ons, or extensions? How easy is it to create and maintain these customizations?
- Custom scripting and automation: Does the application support custom scripting or process automation to create tailored workflows or automate routine tasks? What languages and frameworks are supported for scripting (e.g., JavaScript, Python)?
- User interface (UI) customization: Can customers modify the UI to align with their branding or to improve the user experience for their specific use case? Are there options for custom themes, templates, or layouts?
- Integration with third-party tools: How well does the application integrate with other tools and systems that customers might need for their unique use cases? Are there APIs or pre-built connectors available for these integrations?
- Support for industry-specific requirements: Does the vendor offer industry-specific solutions or customizations to address unique compliance, regulatory, or business process needs?
- Custom reporting and analytics: Can customers create custom reports, dashboards, or analytics based on their specific requirements? Are there built-in tools or integrations with third-party reporting tools to support this?
- Training and documentation: Does the vendor provide training and documentation for customers who wish to customize the application? This could include tutorials, guides, or even access to a developer community.
- Maintenance and upgrades: How does the vendor handle updates and upgrades for customized features? Will customizations continue to work seamlessly with new versions of the application, or will they require additional maintenance?
By asking these questions and analyzing the vendor's responses, you can evaluate the customizability and flexibility of a B2B SaaS application as a potential customer, ensuring that it can be adapted to meet your specific business needs beyond its out-of-the-box features.
5. Robust Support and SLAs
Large enterprises expect reliable customer support and a clear Service Level Agreement (SLA) that outlines performance and uptime guarantees. Providing 24/7 support, dedicated account management, and ongoing training will ensure that the application remains a valuable tool for the enterprise.
Questions you should ask the vendor:
- Support channels: What support channels does the vendor offer, such as email, phone, live chat, or a support portal? Are these channels available 24/7, or do they have specific operating hours?
- Support tiers and response times: Does the vendor offer different support tiers with varying response times based on priority and severity of the issue? Can customers choose a support plan that meets their business requirements and budget?
- Technical expertise: What level of technical expertise can customers expect from the support team? Does the vendor have dedicated support engineers with knowledge of the product and relevant technologies?
- Dedicated account management: Does the vendor provide dedicated account managers or customer success managers for large enterprise customers? These professionals can help with onboarding, training, and ongoing support to ensure the success of the customer's implementation.
- Service Level Agreements (SLAs): What are the vendor's SLAs for response times, resolution times, and application uptime? Are these SLAs clearly defined, and do they meet the customer's expectations?
- Escalation procedures: What escalation procedures does the vendor have in place for handling complex or urgent support issues that cannot be resolved by the standard support channels?
- Knowledge base and self-service resources: Does the vendor offer a comprehensive knowledge base, documentation, or self-service resources, such as FAQs, tutorials, or community forums, to help customers find answers to common questions and issues?
- Training and onboarding: What type of training and onboarding does the vendor provide for new customers? Are there options for customized training, webinars, or workshops to ensure a smooth implementation and adoption of the software?
- Customer satisfaction and testimonials: Can the vendor provide customer testimonials or case studies that demonstrate the quality of their customer support? Are there any third-party reviews or ratings available for their support services?
- Support during software updates and upgrades: How does the vendor handle support during software updates and upgrades? Are there any special procedures or resources in place to ensure a seamless transition and minimal disruption for customers?
By asking these questions and analyzing the vendor's responses, you can evaluate the reliability of customer support and the clarity of SLAs for B2B software as a potential customer, ensuring that it aligns with your organization's needs and expectations.
Evaluating a enterprise-grade B2B software requires a comprehensive understanding of various factors that contribute to its success within an organization. By focusing on scalability and performance, security and compliance, integration and interoperability, customizability and flexibility, and reliable customer support, you can identify a solution that best aligns with your organization's requirements. A thorough evaluation process ensures that the chosen software not only meets current needs but also provides a solid foundation for future growth, ultimately contributing to your organization's long-term success.
