Solution Explorers Blog

Source: Software Advice Blog, http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/uncategorized/best-of-breed-or-integrated-suite-10-questions-to-consider-1050610/

The 10 questions suggested by the author are:

• Are your needs for the new application really that specialized, or can they be met by your ERP vendor’s (potentially) broader offering?
• Do you really need the systems integrated, or are you OK with two standalone systems?
• Does your ERP vendor offer (or come close enough to offering) what you need?
• Do you have the IT resources necessary to perform a complete integration?
• Are the near-term hurdles of implementing a suite or best-of-breed system justifiable for long-term business improvements, or are they prohibitive?
• How truly integrated is the integrated suite vendor’s offering?
• Is the ERP vendor’s solution close to a best-of-breed system?
• What is the long-term viability of the best-of-breed vendor?
• Will the ERP vendor give you such a significant price discount that it offsets the sacrifice in functionality?
• Does the new applications category (i.e. CRM) merit a different deployment model (i.e. SaaS) than your back-office ERP system (i.e. on-premise)?

Question: How do you deal with choosing between all-in-one versus best-of-breed? Answering this without regard specifically to software is perfectly fine.

Image credit: © rufar – Fotolia.com

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Given the struggles many businesses are experiencing during this economic downturn it is becoming increasingly important to hire smart. What does this mean? Well, from a technology standpoint, it means having relevant, timely information and the ability to analyze it so that proven hiring practices can be replicated consistently. There are no guarantees in hiring, but like in any environment businesses need to use systems and processes that give them the greatest probability of success.

As such, I want to reference a Blog post I came across some time ago that caught my attention. In this post TEC (Technology Evaluation Center) shares some information on Human Resources and Business Intelligence. Also, as a former Sage Abra Employer Solutions business partner, this is an area of interest to me and a product line that Solution Explorers has researched in preparation of helping businesses select the right software for their unique business needs.

Below is a Web link to TEC’s Blog post:

http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/12/17/workforce-analytics-%e2%80%93-a-blend-of-business-intelligence-and-human-resources/#comment-8385

Here are a few immediate thoughts…

1) Do buyers of this technology really know what they want by way of metrics?

2) Can vendors move away from dog-n-pony demos of this technology (BI mostly) and present real-scenario applications of the tool that resonate with the buyer?

3) Will buyers include in the initial purchase follow up services to configure metrics after some time of actual application use?

Historically, many (not all) software purchasers buy at the lowest cost and sacrifice follow up services. Then future approvals for more $ become difficult and therefore result in underutilization. All this to say that technology is great, and maturing, but have we buyers and sellers matured in our buying and selling practices/habits?

Finally, aside from software technology, this economic downturn has returned to us something we often lose by relying too much on technology and that is hiring via direct referrals from trusted sources. Today, new hires are winning from referrals and not resumes. Of course, technology tools like HR/BI, LinkedIN, other social networks, etc. are being used for referrals through viewing people’s connections. In the end, hiring smart, much like finding the right software for a client, means using a conglomerate of old school and new technology tools to navigate through a pool of candidates, filter irrelevant options, and selecting the candidate that matches pre-defined criteria. It’s hard work, and requires skill.

Thanks for your support and participation. I’m very excited about developing a mutually-rewarding online dialogue as we explore ways to “transform the software technology buying and selling experience.”

Image credit: Fotolia – treenabeena

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I follow the TEC Blog regularly and appreciate their insights into the ERP software technology market. Their site in and of itself is quite amazing; clearly a lot of thought and work went into this service model. Recently, they submitted a post that I felt compelled to respond to regarding accounting software selection product ratings. Below is a link to the post and copy of my comments. What are your thoughts?

http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2010/03/05/accounting-software-selection-challenge-3-microsoft-vs-infor-difficulty-basic/#comment-8963

Q: Why [does] modifying your priorities change the overall accounting product ratings?

My response….

Well, one obvious answer is product differentiation. Infor and MS Dynamics are viable market solutions, as are many others such as the deep Sage product line. However, each vendor has conducted extensive market research and intentionally (key word) developed different product and/or modular features and functionality emphasis. You’ve heard it before…”if you don’t differentiate then you’ll only compete on price.”

Also, and don’t take this personal, but online product search engines are imperfect. For instance, I recently helped a business find project management software. The software that actually met the client’s needs best did NOT appear in initial searches, respected industry Top 10 lists, etc. The human part of research has exponential value; especially for businesses that want a system that exactly meets their needs – not just a short list of participating vendors.

Finally, regarding your statement, “…many software selection mishaps are directly attributable to improper assessment of business priorities.” That’s ok, but even more so “many software selection mishaps are directly attributable to”…de-emphasizing pre-search Needs Analysis (internal) and documenting System Requirements BEFORE product research and/or reaching out directly to potential solution vendors. Too many companies (buyers) open themselves up before they are really ready to buy, and that’s a costly mistake.

Note: TEC’s emphasis on “prioritizing” system requirements is spot on! It’s bad enough that most software buyers de-emphasize documenting their business needs before reaching out to potential vendors, but it’s worse to also fail to place priorities on system requirements. Doing these two tasks alone, albeit steps that require time and skill, would produce a transformation in software buying and selling; which happens to be the vision for Solution Explorers.

Image credit: © Dmitriy Melnikov – Fotolia.com

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I recently did some collaborative work with Robert Guild, certified QuickBooks Advisor with Austin, TX-based QBCoach. In his preparation to speak with financial leaders and advisors he asked to interview me about the overall concept of Solution Explorers. The result was an effective, fun 9.5 minute interview video in which we covered the following:

• About Solution Explorers.
• Why was Solution Explorers created?
• Example of a problem – Case Study.
• Buyers – what questions to ask?
• Describe your ideal client.

YouTube interview video: About Solution Explorers

It’s interesting…helping others identify the right software solution for their organization seems like such a simple concept. However, I’m often asked “what exactly do you do?” Amazingly, aside from very high $ consultants representing large CPA and/or IT Consulting firms this service model doesn’t appear to be a broadly available service.

Hopefully, the option of outsourcing this time-consuming, skilled project activity will grow so that small and medium sized businesses will be able to focus more on their strengths while increasing the probability of investing revenue or funds in a business solution that effectively meets their current and long-term business software needs. After all, Solution Explorers aims to “transform the software buying and selling experience.” With increased resources and willingness to outsource specialty tasks I am convinced that both buyers and sellers of software technology systems will begin to experience more rewarding ways to interact.

Your thoughts, and even questions, regarding this business concept are certainly welcome.

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