What You Need to Know About RFP Software Reviews

When shopping for software to help create your request for proposals (RFP), it’s easy to get overwhelmed. There are a lot of options out there, and it can be challenging to tell which one is right for you. The Global Request for Proposal RFP Software Market Report is a guide that specifically offers RPF software reviews to help make your selection process easier.

DirectRFP^® was recently included in the 2019 version of the report — and we’re pretty excited. We’re not a traditional player on the RFP field. Our goal is to disrupt and improve traditional processes for developing, distributing, and ranking RFPs. As we write this blog post, we haven’t yet seen the final report, so we can’t offer you details on what the RFP software reviews in it say (about us or anyone else). But we’re really looking forward to gaining more insight about the market — and our place in it.

But what if this is all new to you? RFP software reviews are great, but before you start comparing offerings, you need to know what you’re really getting into. And we can help with that. To celebrate our inclusion in The 2019 Global Request for Proposal RFP Software Market Report, we’re going back to basics. If you’ve got questions about RFPs, here are the answers.

What is RFP software?

First things first. A Request for Proposal (RFP) is a document designed to solicit proposals from agencies or companies — most commonly used when procuring a service or valuable asset for your business. Developing this document, distributing it, and ranking the proposals it attracts have all historically been done manually.

RFP software is a game-changer. It can simplify and streamline the process through digitization. And the right software can also help fine-tune your RFP to attract the vendors most suited to your needs.

Of course, not all software solutions are created equal. And that’s where RFP software reviews play their part. Simply transitioning from a digital RFP system isn’t necessarily going to change much about the process. But there are certain assets that the right RFP software solution can bring to the table that a manual process just can’t offer.

What benefits does RFP software offer?

We’re going to skip straight past the part where we talk about the fact that paper-based processes are outdated, slow, and environmentally unfriendly. We all know that a digital solution is more efficient. But what are the other benefits of RFP software? Well, for starters, RFP software lets you:

• Eliminate redundancies from your development process
• Better communicate and collaborate with stakeholders during the development
• Allow multiple team members to access, edit, and control your document
• Automate bid evaluation and response

It’s safe to say that the vast majority of RFP software solutions will offer these benefits. But some will offer more. When comparing RFP software reviews, look for solutions that also provide:

• Responses received by other companies who have used those questions — so you can judge if a question is likely to elicit the answer you want
• Built-in abilities to weight and score questions
• An audit trail that guarantees full transparency of your procurement process
• Easy communication between buyers and bidders

Want something really special for your cloud, IT, or telecom RFP? Check RFP software reviews for a solution that offers this:

• Libraries of pre-defined questions you can choose from to simplify development
• Lists of vendors that have responded to similar RFPs
• Questions and answers for RFPs relating to UCaaS, CCaaS, mobility, voice services, IT security and analytics, TEM, WEM, GPS services, and more

This is really rare. In fact, as far as we know, we’re the only ones that offer this right now. Because we only work with companies looking for cloud, IT, and telecom products and services, we’ve developed a library of questions for RFPs in those specific niches. This can save you hours of frustration — especially if your expertise lies outside these particular fields.

Features like these are what really make RFP software a revolution. It’s not just about saving time and paper — the right software solution can help you hone in on how to attract the right vendor (and sometimes even find that vendor without ever distributing your RFP).

The DirectRFP^® difference: focus

At DirectRFP^®, our only focus is on helping organizations find the telecom, cloud, and IT solutions they need with our software-as-a-service RFP offering. While we’re definitely proud to have been included a global collection of RFP software reviews, we can’t actually say we’re surprised. We know we’re offering something that makes a real difference to our clients. The companies already using our online RFP solution have seen (on average):

• 60% reduction in RFP creation time
• 50% reduction in costs
• 100% instantaneous results analysis
• Less ambiguity in responses
• Specialization in cloud and telecom industry

Those kinds of results speak for themselves. If you’d like to learn more about our offering, or where you can read more RFP software reviews on our product, get in touch with us today.