Since choosing IT vendors is an integral component of the firm's IT deployment strategy, the final choice of an IT vendor should be the result of careful and in-depth analysis of the various variables involved in the deployment. For the purposes of this study, the factors affecting the choice of IT vendors were classified into two categories: overall vendor factors and specific vendor factors. The overall factors include the reliability of the vendor, the speed by which the vendor implements the chosen IT solutions and the level of technology the vendor is providing. The vendor specific factors were further divided into two sets: structured criteria for selecting vendors and convenience criteria. The structured criteria included speed of the application, costs, localisation and support services. The convenience criteria included vendor reputation, promotions, recommendations and easiness of the solution provided. The findings of this study reveal that more emphasis is being placed on structured vendor criteria (i.e. measurable) than on unstructured ones (i.e. convenience). This finding suggests that IT implementation initiatives are being carried out more professionally with the aim of ensuring higher overall IT deployment fit.