Before choosing an analytics vendor, ask every finalist the same questions, request written answers and supporting evidence, and score each response against your actual use cases. A polished demo or a general claim that a platform “integrates” is not enough: you need to know what it can do with your data, what it will cost at your expected scale, how it handles privacy and security, and how you can leave.
How to use these questions
Start with the workflows and outcomes you need, then give each shortlisted vendor the same requirements and questions. Ask for answers in writing and evidence you can verify, such as a tailored demonstration, contract language, technical documentation, or a customer reference. Score vendors against your priorities rather than treating a buying checklist as proof that a product is suitable.
A useful evaluation can cover six dimensions: workflow fit, data and model fit, privacy and control, total cost, implementation and support, and customer evidence and product direction. The Center for Internet Security’s 2021 security analytics RFP is one concrete example of a procurement evaluation that considered demonstrations alongside written proposals, licensing and projected costs, implementation support, product evolution, and past performance; it is not a market-wide benchmark. See the CIS RFP.
1. Can you demonstrate our priority workflows on representative scenarios or data?
Give vendors a short list of the tasks the platform must support and ask them to demonstrate those tasks using scenarios or data representative of your environment. For each workflow, have them identify what works out of the box, what requires configuration, and what would need custom development. Ask for a live or recorded demonstration tied to your requirements, not just a general product tour.
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Record any assumptions the demonstration depends on, including data preparation, integrations, permissions, or add-on products. Then compare the demonstration with the vendor’s written proposal so that a feature shown informally is not mistaken for a documented commitment.
2. Which exact data sources, destinations, APIs, and connectors do you support?
Name the systems you already use and the destinations where analytics results need to go. Ask how each connection works and what happens to data as it is ingested, transformed, modeled, and exported. A general statement such as “we integrate with your stack” does not establish that a specific connector supports the objects, fields, volumes, or direction of data movement you need.
- Which named sources and destinations are supported natively, through a partner, or through an API?
- Are any connectors limited by product tier, data type, refresh frequency, or volume?
- What transformations or ETL steps are included, and which require your team or a paid service?
- Can the data model be customized for both current and anticipated requirements?
Salesforce’s CDP buying guide discusses source coverage, partner integrations, APIs, ETL, and data-model fit as factors to examine when evaluating a platform. Review Salesforce’s CDP buying guide. A people analytics checklist also raises data quality and consistency across sources as evaluation questions. See the people analytics checklist.
3. How do you define identity, events, metrics, and other core data concepts?
Ask the vendor to explain how the platform defines the entities and measurements your reports depend on. In a customer data platform, for example, identity may need to span CRM records, marketing technology, device identifiers, households, or companies. Confirm how the vendor’s identity rules match your use case and what happens when records conflict or cannot be confidently matched.
Ask which event, metric, and identity definitions you can change, who can change them, and whether a change affects historical reporting. Treat historical behavior as something to verify for the product and configuration you are considering; it should not be assumed from a general description of the data model. Salesforce’s guide supports asking whether identity and the data model fit the buyer’s needs, but it does not establish how every platform handles changes to historical data. Salesforce CDP buying guide.
4. What data do you collect, how is it used, and what controls can we configure?
Request the data processing terms and ask for a clear account of what the service collects, why it is used, who can access it, how long it is retained, and how it can be deleted. Ask about role-based access, privacy settings, data-sharing options, subprocessors, and any services linked to the platform. Confirm which controls are available to you and whether they vary by product, region, or contract.
Google’s Analytics documentation describes Google Analytics customers as controllers and Google as processor under the GDPR terms discussed there, and says customers retain rights over collection, access, retention, and deletion. Those statements describe Google Analytics and its terms; they do not determine another vendor’s legal role, compliance status, or available controls. Read Google Analytics’ data-processing terms documentation.
5. What happens when data moves through integrations or leaves the platform?
For every integration, ask what information is sent, which party receives it, what terms govern its use, and whether you can audit, limit, or disable the transfer. Find out whether the vendor or the integration partner is responsible for access, retention, and deletion after data leaves the analytics platform.
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Google says data exported through a linked integration becomes subject to the integration partner’s terms and policies, and that Google Analytics no longer maintains access or control over the exported data. This is a Google-specific explanation, so verify the equivalent arrangements for each product and connected service you are evaluating. Google Analytics data-processing terms.
6. What is the complete cost at our current and forecast scale?
Ask for an itemized estimate based on your present usage and a forecast of how that usage may grow. The estimate should identify the pricing unit, volume assumptions, tier limits, recurring charges, and one-time charges. A license price alone may not show the cost of operating the product or expanding its use.
- Licenses, users, events, records, or other billable units
- Hosting, storage, bandwidth, and overage charges
- Implementation, migration, training, and support
- Optional add-ons, premium connectors, and professional services
The CIS 2021 RFP evaluated licensing models and projected costs based on volume, as well as hosting, storage, bandwidth, and other fees. A people analytics checklist likewise prompts buyers to ask about subscription or per-user pricing and additional charges for users, add-ons, and support. Neither source supplies a current market price; request product- and contract-specific figures from each vendor. CIS RFP · People analytics checklist.
7. What implementation work, timeline, and internal resources are required?
Ask the vendor to distinguish its responsibilities from yours. Get a plan with milestones, named owners, required data and access, included integrations, migration tasks, and any work that requires a separate fee. Ask what assumptions the timeline depends on, which common issues can delay deployment, and how the vendor proposes to mitigate them.
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Also ask what “live” or “implemented” means in the proposed schedule: a connected data source, a validated reporting workflow, or an operational rollout to end users may be different milestones. A people analytics checklist recommends asking about typical implementation duration, time to value, delay factors, and mitigation; use those as prompts to obtain commitments specific to your project, not as evidence of a universal deployment timeline. People analytics software checklist.
8. How will we validate performance, scale, and accessibility?
Ask vendors to show how the product handles your expected data volume and reporting workloads, including the growth you anticipate. Request the performance or service measures that would apply under your contract, and clarify how they are measured and what happens if they are missed.
Evaluate the experience for the people who will use the product, not only the technical team. Check whether typical users can find and interpret the reports they need, whether the product works on the devices they use, and whether it meets your accessibility requirements. A people analytics checklist raises scale, uptime and performance measures, usability, and device access as questions for vendors; it does not establish that any particular product meets a given threshold. People analytics checklist.
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Ask what onboarding and ongoing support include, how you reach support, how issues are escalated, and what training or professional services cost. Ask vendors to provide references from customers with comparable use cases, scale, and implementation needs; case studies alone may not answer questions about day-to-day service or fit.
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Request the product roadmap or a written explanation of planned development relevant to your requirements, while distinguishing stated plans from contractual commitments. The CIS RFP included implementation support, product evolution, and past performance among its evaluation factors. A people analytics checklist also raises training, services, references, case studies, roadmap, and customer feedback. CIS RFP · People analytics checklist.
10. How do we retrieve or delete our data when the contract ends?
Get the exit process in writing before signing. Ask what data you can export, in which formats, how long retrieval takes, whether export or transition support costs extra, and how deletion works after termination. Clarify whether deletion covers backups and linked services, what retention exceptions apply, and how the vendor will confirm completion.
Google documents user-data deletion and some export mechanisms, but notes that deleting a user does not delete associated aggregate data such as page URLs visited. That illustrates why “delete our data” needs a precise scope; confirm the applicable behavior and contract terms for the product you are considering. Google Analytics data-processing terms documentation.
How to compare the answers
Use the same scoring method for every finalist. Weight each dimension according to your actual requirements, and do not let a strong score in one area conceal a failure in a must-have area such as a critical integration, privacy control, or exit requirement.
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| Workflow fit | Demonstrations against your agreed scenarios; distinction between standard features, configuration, and custom work |
| Data and model fit | Named sources, destinations, APIs, transformations, data quality, identity rules, and model flexibility |
| Privacy and control | Processing terms, access controls, retention and deletion options, data sharing, subprocessors, and integration behavior |
| Total cost | Itemized recurring and one-time charges using your current and forecast usage assumptions |
| Implementation and support | Responsibilities, milestones, dependencies, training, support, and escalation process |
| Customer evidence and direction | Comparable references, documented past performance, and relevant product plans |
For each answer, record the evidence, unresolved assumptions, and whether the vendor has put the commitment in a proposal or contract. A checklist helps organize diligence; the decision should rest on verified fit for your workflows and the obligations the vendor is willing to document.
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