Questions to Ask a Software Vendor about Security (and Verify) before Purchase

How do you choose which software vendor's product to buy? For a long time, CRM packages, ERP systems, and other commercial software selection criteria have come down to factors such as performance, compatibility, reputation of the vendor, support, and price. Security, though, has become a looming factor in the total cost of ownership and the risk of selecting one software product over another. Ed Adams describes the tough questions you need to ask vendors about security and how to extract critical information from them. Find out the steps to verify that their statements are accurate and their answers complete. With an approach for quantifying security risk before purchase, your organization will make more informed acquisition decisions.

• A security assessment approach for purchased software packages
• Quantifying security risk in software packages before purchase
• Assess existing packages for security integrity