Breaking The Cycle

27/07/10

By Gary Waylett

“You don’t need to change your software!” is not the advice you expect to hear from a company that makes money out of selling business systems. But Eclipse Group’s CEO, Gary Waylett, says it’s often the right advice for the company that wants to get maximum value from its IT budget.

Why do so many of today’s systems replacement projects end in disappointment? On the face of it, the prospects should be favourable. By definition, these companies are experienced users of at least one other system, so they should have a shrewd idea of what they want...

...from the replacement, and be aware of the pitfalls to avoid.

The problem is that, typically, the amount that most companies feel able to spend on a new system is barely enough to replicate the functionality of their current one. A limited implementation budget is quickly eaten up by mundane, unavoidable stuff: the monthly and statutory reporting, the basic management information. After all the pain of a six to eight month systems replacement project, a company can find itself with no more functionality than its current system is giving them - perhaps less. Who needs this kind of return on investment disaster?

Potentially, some organisations may have the budget and resources available to go on developing the new system beyond the initial implementation phase. But many do not have this luxury. By the time they’ve got back to the point where they left off with their old system, they’ve blown this year’s IT budget.

As a result, the new system does not help the business to address the original objectives. It is not easing the process of meeting compliance requirements; it does not deliver the expected cost reduction or efficiency improvements, or provide greater reporting granularity.

Yet... continued on page two >

 

 

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