A company in Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) Software provides software solutions that help businesses evaluate the complete life cycle of a product or a service. This spans from its inception, through its design, manufacture, distribution, use, and disposal, and evaluates all associated environmental impacts. This software is designed to quantify and assess the environmental impacts at each stage, to allow companies to implement more sustainable practices and decisions. This can include energy usage, material and resource consumption, emissions, waste output, and much more. The companies not only provide the software, but they also typically provide training and customer support services.

Selecting a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) Software vendor involves a thorough process to ensure that you choose a solution that aligns with your company's objectives and sustainability efforts. Below are some steps you can follow:  

1. Evaluate Your Requirements: Outline what you expect your LCA Software to achieve. Note your industrial sector, your company's size, and the specific production processes you need the software to analyze. Also, determine whether you need tools for only LCA or also for related processes like carbon footprinting.  

2. Pre-Research: Browse through different vendor websites, read through their product descriptions, user reviews, case studies, and pricing. Also, look for the industries they typically serve and whether they can handle operations similar to yours.  

3. Expert Advice: Collaborate with sustainability experts and potential users within your company to understand what specific features to look for in a vendor. Your decision should be a collective one, as multiple departments may later use the software.  

4. Key Features: Identify the key features that the software should have. These may include, data quality, usability, transparency, support for multiple impact categories, ease of integration with existing systems, and robustness of results.  

5. Request for Proposal (RFP): Write an RFP that outlines your specific requirements and expectations from the software. The proposal should detail your company and its needs for potential vendors to understand and respond accordingly.  

6. Vendor Evaluation: On receiving proposals, assess them based on their suitability to your requirements, cost, ease of use, scalability, flexibility, training, and support.  

7. Free Trials/Demos: If possible, go for free trials or request demonstrations. This will give you an actual feel of how the software works and whether it's user-friendly and effective for your purpose.  

8. Vendor Reputation: Assess the reputation of the vendor. How stable is the company? How long have they been on the market? Check out their customer references and ask for case studies.  

9. Sustainability Standards: Check if the software complies with major international standards related to sustainability assessment, such as ISO 144 and ISO 1444.  

10. Support: Consider the type and level of support the vendor provides. This includes aspects like training, customer service, and software updates.  

11. Final Decision: After going through all the above steps, discuss the shortlisted vendors with your team and make your final decision.

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) Software is a tool that helps to quantify the environmental impacts of a product, service, or process over its entire life cycle. This includes all stages from raw material extraction, through production, use, and disposal.  With regards to decarbonization, LCA software is beneficial in several ways:  

1. Identifies Carbon Hotspots: The software can help identify the stages in the life cycle that contribute most to the carbon footprint. This information can then be used to prioritize areas for improvement.  

2. Development of Low-carbon Products: By understanding the carbon footprint of the existing products, manufacturers can design and develop more sustainable and low-carbon products.  

3. Decision Making: LCA software can support decision-making by providing comprehensive data on the carbon impacts of different options. This can inform strategies for carbon reduction, such as switching to renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, or changing materials or suppliers.  

4. Assessing Carbon Reduction Strategies: Use of this software will help to assess the effectiveness of different carbon reduction strategies. It can provide quantitative data to measure progress towards decarbonization targets.  

5. Communication: LCA results can be used to communicate the environmental benefits of a product or service to customers, investors, and other stakeholders. This can enhance a company's reputation and marketability.  

6. Regulatory Compliance: With increasing regulation around carbon emissions and climate change, LCA software can help businesses to comply with these regulations and avoid potential penalties.  In essence, LCA software is a critical tool for businesses and organizations in their pursuit of decarbonization. It enables them to understand their carbon impacts, develop effective strategies for reduction, and monitor their progress over time.