5 Questions Every Financial Firm Should Ask Before Starting a Technology RFP
A short briefing document for CTOs, CIOs and sourcing leads preparing a major technology vendor selection. It covers the structural questions most RFPs assume have already been answered, and the cost of getting them wrong.
Download the PDFWhat's inside
- 01
What problem are we actually solving?
Most RFPs describe a system to be replaced, not a business outcome to be reached. Without an outcome, vendors can only respond to the symptoms, and the shortlist optimises for the wrong things.
- 02
What is fixed, and what is genuinely up for change?
Operating model, regulatory perimeter, data residency, integration estate — RFPs that don't separate constraints from preferences let every vendor reframe the question into one their product happens to answer.
- 03
Who owns the decision, and on what evidence?
Procurement, technology, operations and risk all carry a vote. If the evidence each function needs hasn't been agreed up front, scoring becomes a negotiation rather than an assessment.
- 04
What does 'good' look like in 24 months?
Vendor selection is a multi-year commitment. The RFP should describe the target state the platform must support, not just the gaps it must close on day one.
- 05
What are we prepared to walk away from?
Without a clear set of disqualifiers, every shortlist drifts toward the incumbent or the loudest sales motion. Naming the trade-offs you won't accept is what makes the process defensible.
The full briefing expands each question with examples drawn from recent vendor selections across banks, pension schemes and financial services firms, and a one-page checklist you can take into a sponsor conversation.
Download the PDFFrameworks that move you from week one
Structured assessment methods, RFP scaffolding and decision tooling refined across dozens of engagements. No blank pages, no slow starts, no rediscovering first principles on your time.