Finding Your Fit
In Affordable Software Technology
My clothes never fit just right. The sleeves are too long, the instep too roomy, or [these days] the waistband too tight. Artisans do exist who can tailor my shirts, my suits, my shoes to fit me comfortably and make me look great. But I can’t afford to pay that kind of money for my wardrobe. So I shop at a department store, or even a superstore, looking for the best deal on something that comes reasonably close.
And that’s how most companies have to shop for software. They make sacrifices in fit, functionality, performance, expandability, durability, and a litany of other measurements they’d like to include in their processing technologies, but can’t afford. Consequently, local businesses and entrepreneurs have to piece together a patchwork of software packages bought “over the counter,” created for everyone in general and no one in particular. They effectively saddle themselves with a technology wardrobe that keeps them covered, but not competitive.
Stepping Into the Fray
Five years ago, Symetrics Industries began researching the benefits of investing in an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software system. We took the plunge and converted all systems over to the new ERP in April of 2006.
Very quickly, we discovered that the problems we reported to the software manufacturer were thrown into a large vat with everyone else’s problems. If enough of their customers had issues fairly similar in nature to one of ours, those issues were combined into a single issue and run up to the software developers who would try to come up with a singular viable solution that could hopefully meet the specific needs of all parties who had originally complained.
The majority of our concerns, however, sank to the bottom of the vat to drown amidst the ever-increasing volume of trouble soup that our software vendor had neither time nor resources to address…UNLESS we were willing to pay development costs for an individually tailored solution . . . and that option was prohibitively expensive.
Stepping Away From the Pack
Two or three months in, during a call with a support tech about one feature or another that didn’t work correctly for us, I was advised we could pay an exorbitant fee for a tailored software solution…OR join the beta testing group that receives special attention and has a say in future development directions. After getting more information, I quickly presented the beta testing option for corporate approval.
The benefits of beta testing are intoxicating:
- Free access to the latest updates for the purpose of testing and learning,
- Expert help desk teams assigned exclusively to solve beta issues in days or even hours instead of months,
- Frequent communication directly with the developers who are there to solve our specific performance issues,
- Weekly conferencing with other beta testing customers to compare notes on successes and potential pitfalls,
- Scheduled site visits from management executives who want to mine our department heads and power users for ideas on how to better compete by including consumer driven functionality,
- Direct influence on the trajectory of development so that the product more closely conforms to our own individual business model.
Are there dangers to running the gauntlet of beta testing? Absolutely.
- Effective testing involves a time commitment away from production using our most competent employees,
- Installing ahead of the curve means we live with buggy software that can give us headaches and slow productivity,
- Continuous upgrades are more expensive than staying with an older model that will eventually become more comfortable, albeit antiquated,
- And such a heavy investment stiffens our flexibility to switch brands should another system become more attractive.
Stepping into the Light
Is beta testing worth the risk? That’s for your company to decide. Throw the idea into a decision tree and perform some risk management. It’s a calculated shot in the dark, a gamble based on perceived reliability in the software developers and confidence in your own implementation crew.
Did it work for us? That’s a judgment call day by day, month to month. If it’s any indicator, we did recently schedule going live with our development partner on their latest release of ERP software…before anyone else in the world.
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