After two late nights polishing up responses to RFPs for technology projects, it felt like writing a de-brief of the process and key takeaways would be a cathartic thing to do. Let’s find out.

There are skeptics (like me at times) who believe that the RFP process is really just an administrative checks and balances activity and that procurement has its mind made up on the vendor of choice long before the RFPs are received and reviewed. We’ve all thought that one of the “big-guys” had it in the bag before the RFP was issued once or twice, and sometimes, that may be the case, but I don’t believe always, and for one key reason: most projects are highly specialized and sometimes the big guys can’t build as compelling a case or team as a smaller, more nimble and highly specialized firm. […]