MANAGE TECHNOLOGY & LEAD
the company has outside investors , changed ownership recently or many times in the past . In that case , the scope of the product and the agreement may change in the future as well . “ It ’ s important for your agency to feel comfortable that you can place your trust in a vendor not only at the moment you sign the agreement but well into the future ,” says HawkSoft ’ s Chief Marketing Officer , Rushang Shah . “ Vendors like HawkSoft , for example , that are privately owned have the advantage of having fewer stakeholders to answer to besides the agent , so they can focus purely on what ’ s best for the agent rather than making a quick return on investment .”
2 . Is your data tethered to the system if you decide to leave ? True ownership of data means it ’ s not trapped in one system — an agency should be free to change systems if necessary for their business . Vendors often make it difficult for agencies to leave by locking them into long-term contracts and making it costly and time-consuming to get a copy of their data . They often charge thousands of dollars in data extraction fees and taking months to provide the agency with a copy of their data when they leave . If this sounds like your data is essentially being held hostage digitally — it is .
Here are some things to consider that will give you a better idea of how much control you ’ ll have over your data once it ’ s in a vendor ’ s system :
▸ Does the agreement specify a minimum term of use ?
▸ How much notice are you required to give before leaving ?
▸ Can you create a backup of your data in the system at any time ?
▸ How much does the vendor charge for providing a copy of your data if you leave , and how quickly will they offer it ?
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