The inevitable (but my second favorite topic) what kind of HRIS?

Although I am not an HRIS person, but as luck would have it my company is going through the motions of selecting an HRIS. The funny part is I am the person who is going to be on the implementation team from the HR side and I am very seriously thinking of moving into the HRIS side, since I also love technology and playing with new gizmos. What are your thoughts on different HRIS systems available in the market for a small (200-300 employees) company?

First, sorry for not addressing this sooner (Ill go into more detail in your email), but things have been busier than even I might like (and I don't like it when Im not overly busy--too boring). Second take a long introspective look and see if you have the evil antisocial soul that is such a core competency for HRIS. (I transitioned from finance so merciless evil was no big deal)

Quick answer:
My experience with HRMS/payroll implementations is for 10,000+ employees. It is the realm of the big players like Peoplesoft; ADP enterprise/peoplesoft; SAS; etc. Choosing from them is really a process of "who is going to charge me the least for the most features on my RFP and "what salesman lied the best to my senior management"

The smaller market for HRIS/payroll is out of my direct experience, but the same should apply.

Do you have an RFP? My last employer thought they were a waste and is still probably paying for that mistake. If not, do one, or get someone who does it for a living to do it for you (my recommendation).

Do you intend to own in house or asp? In-house is my preference, but for smaller employee populations, outsourcing may be the way to go since you may not have the IT infrastructure.
However, if you forsee many customizations or expansions, your cost savings can evaporate rather quickly.

Any other readers have any experiences with the smaller market?

It would be kind of neat to do HRIS for a small population (especially if all located in single state*), but then again, do many small operations actually have dedicated HRIS?

*California excepted