PIM non-functional requirements: security, SLA, licence and exit

What are PIM non-functional requirements?

Non-functional requirements describe the platform and the vendor behind the functions: security, availability, performance, licence and exit. They are the fourth domain of the PIM requirements guide. Platform requirements give the buyer the most negotiating power before signature and the least after it.

PIM Selection publishes 60 platform and vendor requirements in 13 groups.

Most PL requirements are verified through documents, contract clauses and reference calls instead of a live demo. Plan that verification work into the selection timeline, with security, legal and procurement involved from the requirement phase.

Which security and identity requirements are mandatory?

Six security and identity requirements are musts for almost every buyer. A PIM holds the complete product master, unreleased products and supplier contacts, so its security posture should match other core business systems.

• Independent attestation (PL-001): a current ISO/IEC 27001 certificate or SOC 2 Type II report covering the PIM service.
• Encryption (PL-002): data encrypted in transit and at rest, with documented key management.
• Incident notification (PL-004): a contractual period that supports your GDPR duties.
• Data processing agreement (PL-005): with a sub-processor list and change notice.
• Single sign-on (PL-008): SAML 2.0 or OpenID Connect with your identity provider.
• Multi-factor sign-in (PL-009): enforced for every user outside single sign-on, including suppliers.

Data residency is the seventh must for most European buyers. PL-012 asks for production data, backups and logs in the EU or EEA, with the provider and region named in the contract. AI features deserve a separate check, because they often call model providers in other regions (PL-015).

How do we test PIM performance at our volume?

Test performance on a dataset with your own attribute count, locale count and asset volume, and agree the measurement protocol before the demo. Performance on a small demo catalogue predicts nothing about a large one.

Agree the thresholds with the vendor in advance, and record the results in the demo scorecard. A proof of concept is the right place to measure when the demo cannot load your volume. Growth matters too. PL-024 asks for the licence and architecture impact of your five-year volume forecast in writing.

What should a PIM SLA and support contract include?

A PIM SLA should state the availability commitment, the measurement method, recovery objectives and the remedy for missed targets. A number without a method and a remedy is a marketing figure.

PL-016 asks for a monthly availability commitment for production, the measurement method and service credits. PL-018 adds recovery point and recovery time objectives, tested by the vendor at least yearly. PL-017 schedules maintenance outside your business hours, and PL-019 asks for a public status page with incident history.

Support terms belong in the contract as well. PL-033 defines hours, channels, languages and response times per severity level. PL-034 asks for a one-hour response to severity 1 outages at any time.

Upgrades are the hidden part of a SaaS contract. PL-029 preserves configuration and integrations through upgrades and asks for six months notice of breaking API changes. PL-030 states which extensions survive upgrades, including partner-built customisations. Use the PIM contract checklist to carry these items into negotiation.

Which licence and exit terms protect the buyer?

The licence and exit terms that protect the buyer are transparent cost metrics, capped renewals, documented editions and a full data export at any time. These terms decide total cost of ownership over the contract period more than the first-year price.

PL-042 asks the pricing model to name every metric that drives cost, such as users, products, channels, locales, API calls or AI credits. PL-043 caps renewal increases by a percentage or index. PL-044 documents editions, so you see which requirements need a higher tier. The pricing models themselves are explained in PIM pricing models.

Exit terms complete the picture. PL-048 asks for a full export of data, assets, relationships and history in open formats at any time. PL-049 covers export and deletion at termination, and PL-051 adds configuration export. The EU Data Act has applied since 12 September 2025, and switching charges for cloud services are to be phased out by 12 January 2027. PL-050 asks the vendor to state exit assistance and fees consistent with those rules.

Partners, roadmap and accessibility

Partner capacity, roadmap honesty and accessibility complete the platform domain. Each one is easy to check early and expensive to discover late.

PL-040 asks the vendor to confirm in writing that every feature shown in the demo is generally available in the contracted edition. Demonstrated beta features are a frequent source of disappointment after signature. PL-038 asks for a 12-month roadmap with committed and exploratory items marked.

Partner requirements test delivery capacity. PL-053 asks for at least three certified partners in your region and language. PL-056 asks for reference customers of comparable size, industry and landscape, available without the vendor present.

Accessibility applies in two directions. The European Accessibility Act has applied since 28 June 2025 to consumer services such as e-commerce. PL-058 and PL-059 support accessible product pages with alternative text and product accessibility information. PL-057 covers the PIM user interface for your own colleagues. API and integration limits that also affect performance are covered in integration and syndication requirements.

The 60 published platform and vendor requirements

The full PL set is listed below with statement, rationale, test, default priority and tags. Filter, adjust and export it in the PIM requirements checklist.

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