Technology Evaluation Centers

Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC) is an online media company that provides information technology research and consulting services. TEC publishes analyst research and provides advisory services for enterprise software selection.
TEC is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec (Canada) with an office in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The company was founded in 1993 as a decision support system (DSS) developer. TEC's current business model focuses on methods for reducing costs, risks, and time associated with software selection processes.
Services
TEC provides different services to software purchasers, consultants, and vendors. For purchasers and consultants, the company operates in an advisory and support role, providing custom research and software selection guidance (business process modeling, RFI development, functional evaluations, etc.).
For software vendors, the company's services include advertising, media response programs (dissemination of case studies, podcasts, webcasts, and white papers), and the development of lead generation, as well as custom research and industry intelligence. These services publicize information about enterprise software vendors and industry-specific (e.g. manufacturing, distribution, government) software requirements.
TEC's Software Selection Methodology
TEC developed—based on Herbert Simon's rational decision-making model —a methodology for enterprise software selection that takes place in 3 phases, along with post-selection activities:
# Research—includes setting goals, defining requirements, and making a long list of vendors for further evaluation.
# Evaluation—includes sending out RFIs, revising the list of vendors, and deciding whom to invite for product demonstrations.
# Selection—includes inviting shortlisted vendors for product demonstrations, rating their performances, and choosing the winning vendor.
:Finally, in the post-selection phase, the company oversees negotiating the contract with the winning vendor and implementation.
At the core of TEC's advisory services and research are its proprietary decision support systems (DSS) and models of enterprise software. Its DSS is accessed both as a Web-based application (TEC Advisor) and as a desktop version (ERGO) of decision making software. TEC's DSS engine, TEC Advisor, is used to objectively evaluate, compare, and select software products that match end user business and system requirements.
The DSS has a basis in a value tree/multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT) approach and is designed for large-scale decision modeling and data capture. It uses models of enterprise software systems to systematize knowledge and information about software vendors and providers, as researched by TEC’s analysts.
TEC Advisor employs TEC's quantitative assessment methodology to deliver an appropriate statistical recommendation. This methodology, which is based on regression-correlation and Bayesian pattern matching techniques, compares user requirements and priorities with detailed product capability ratings, and makes appropriate adjustments to account for product capability ratings that exceed or fall short of client requirements.
TEC's DSS employs the company's patented Weighted Average Composite Index (WACI) algorithm. This composite index is a measure based on the pattern of what is important to a user, and compares the pattern of importance with how well alternatives actually meet that pattern. It is a pattern-match method, rather than a simple weighted average. The combination of the composite index and the weighted average is a tradeoff of overall performance (weighted average) against the pattern match (composite index).
TEC's research and tools have been applied in a variety of decision processes, including performance measurement, procurement, technology selections, risk management, and task prioritization, among others. Clients include consulting firms, manufacturers, mining companies, electric utilities, the Canadian Space Agency, and others. The company offers training and consulting in business process modeling, software selection processes, and knowledge-base-building processes for corporate and government clients.
Publishing and Research
TEC's publications include articles and reports on product functionality, often with a focus on topics such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain management (SCM), product lifecycle management (PLM), customer relationship management (CRM), business intelligence (BI), and other issues such as open source applications.
TEC publishes its newsletters and research in multiple languages, including English (ISSN 1715-3263), Spanish (ISSN 1715-3271), French, and Chinese.

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