Spend Matters Navigator Stumbles

I got word last weekend that the technology provider behind Spend Matters Navigator will no longer be supporting the application after the end of the month. They've been good enough to keep supporting the application in its current form for another couple of weeks. We are not, however, capturing any new feeds as of early November. Alas, all is not lost as we've been able to amass a great archive file from leading blogs, trade publications, analyst firms and business news sources in the past 12 months. And we're migrating our data to a more stable -- and potentially more powerful -- platform in the coming weeks. It will be worth it, but please bear with us. In the meantime, what are my lessons learned when it comes to working with small software providers? First, don't go with bleeding edge platforms unless you have the time and capital to devote to them. Second, you're only as good as your relationships (including the one that led to the original deal with the current provider). And third, and most important, listen to your users and customers as early in the process as possible. If I had taken this final piece of advice and listened to one person in particular nine months ago, we'd be in a different position now.

- Jason Busch