Part Ii: on Selecting Software (how to Do it Right the First Time)

How do you choose software that’s only right for your company’s use? What are the things that you should include in your checklist? Pocket a closer look at these guidelines:

Key Selection Criteria in Detail:

1) Company History & Experience

How Lingering Have They Been Around?

Company background is essential because unlike brick and mortar companies, software companies are often small, and even beyond national boundaries. In view of the fact that often these companies will be handling sensitive data related to your company, one needs to be doubly sure. Law hasn’t quite been able to pin down the particularities of the software diligence, and in case of misdemeanor, it would be harder to hold such a company accountable.

One can safely assume that past records are a excellent indicator of future performance. Therefore it is a must that some calculate be place in researching the company previous to one even goes on to consider the software itself.

There are a few things that need to be checked. How lingering have they been around? Are they registered? How lingering have they been in the field? For example if they’re offering business communication software, have they been in this diligence lingering enough to know it well? How lingering have they been in their current business? Even if the software is new, do they have experience rising related softwares?

What is Their Niche?

Another very valuable factor about the company’s history is the niche it has experience in serving. Does the company know your niche well enough to know your needs? If you are a small to mid sized business, it is unlikely a company serving the Fortune 500 will offer you the best solution. If you bring about from home, it is unlikely a solution serving large offices will meet your needs.

The Ultimate Testament – The Customer

The ultimate judge of a software are its users. To get a right picture of a software’s workings, it is valuable to look at how customers are using it and what their comments are. It may entail looking at the site to see if they include a client’s list or page. If the list exists, is extensive and includes recognizable names, that is usually a excellent sign. Customer testimonials on the site are a excellent indicator of its performance, and one could also pocket the initiative of getting in touch with the customers oneself and seeking comments.

Dangers

There are particular things with the software diligence that a buyer should be wary of. Because of the lower entry and exit costs, software startups are known to have shorter live spans than traditional companies. Lots of these companies are known to ride distinguished on the success wave when the diligence is doing well and go “pop” when the diligence bubble bursts. This was well exemplified by the .com bubble burst of 2000, when many software companies departed without a trace.

It is debatable whether the current increase in of “web 2.0” companies also constitute another increasing buddle which will certainly burst, but it makes significance that the buyer be wary and bet their money with dependable companies with proven track records.

2) Cost

There’s no denying the importance of cost in buying decisions across the board. Yet the issue of cost should be seen in a broad perspective, because low entry costs may result in higher costs along the manufactured goods’s life or higher overall costs for the company.

Features vs. Price

A cost benefit analysis makes significance, as opposed to only considering costs. The costs need to be seen in light of the range of features and functionalities the manufactured goods provides. An online document management logic may not be the lowest priced in the market, but it may also allow you the capabilities of setting up a virtual office.

A choice point is whether one wants to keep the budget down and buy a manufactured goods with most of the main features, or willing to shell out extra money for the entire feature set. As costs go down, one will have to make some compromises on the features, but excellent research can reveal products which offer a very excellent cost to feature ratio.

Needs vs. Price

Another question which arises is whether there is an overlap between features and needs at all. Many of the features may not relate to needs which were sought to be addressed at all.

To retain objectivity one can clearly define ones needs, and accordingly classify features as “needed features” and “features not needed”. It is possible that all features may not fit nicely into this scheme as particular features may not be absolutely essential, but would be valuable still. Another possible scheme of classifying features could be “must have”, “nice to have”, and “future requirements” (relating to features that do not serve an immediate need but would in the future)

Armed with this objective information, one would be in a better position to assess various software solutions priced differently & offering different feature sets. A word of caution, purchasers often tend to go for products with loads of features, but never get around to using half of them. This represents atrophied expenditure, so it is valuable to analyze all features in light of needs.

3) Ease of Use/Adoption

A learning and adoption curve is caught up with every new software buy as it needs to be integrated with current systems or other softwares and the end users have to be brought up to speed using it. If the software is chunky and too complex, one can be sure of adoption resistance.

Ease of Use

The software should have an intuitive interface, and use of features should be sweet much nature evident. The shorter the learning curve training a new addict, the better. Solutions which are too complex or have crudely designed interfaces are major turnoffs for users.

The software should have the ability to easily fit into the existing workflow and IT systems. It may often be necessary for the new software to communicate with established systems. Web-based softwares are a excellent example of softwares which nicely fit into diverse systems with minimum friction, because they need no elaborate implementation at the customers end and can be run from simply a web browser.

Adoption

To get a measure of “shelfware”, i.e., softwares which are bought but never used, one only needs to look at the statistics. Some studies peg the number of content management solutions which are shelved at 20-25%. At around a million dollars an implementation, this is really sweet expensive shelfware! According to another study, 22% of bought ERP licenses are not life used, in U.S.-based companies.

No skepticism, “Shelfware” is a result of ill thought to buy decisions. These studies merely underline the importance of building an educated buy lest the money is not spent on software that does small more than cooling its heels on an office shelf. One possible way to protect against shelfware is the new concept of “pay as you go” hosted solutions. The software is hosted with company itself, and buyers merely have to pay a monthly subscription rank, which can be opted out in case the customer realizes that the software is not compatible with his business.

Help

No matter how simple to use or intuitive a software is, there are bound to be times when one can’t find out how to bring about a particular feature or a hiccup crops up. Hence quality of help services is very valuable.

Some software solutions may require you to hire dedicated help personnel of your own, while with others company help suffices. The cost of hiring help personnel needs to be factored into the buying choice

Provider help may be in the form of human help, i.e., customer care executives who quickly (or not) attend to your problems. Here also the level of quality in terms of helpfulness of solution provided, availability and conduct of help executives matters.

Help can also be in the form of an extensively documented help engine, or extensive help information on the company site, which provides solutions to nearly all of the questions you could possibly have. This form of help is often more efficient than the human version.

Training

Training is another form of help which deserves special mention. Some companies offer free training seminars (online and offline) to help customers get up to speed with using a software. This greatly helps in getting started with a new software. In other cases the software force not warrant much specialized training at all. In some cases the company force offer paid training, which force be essential and whose cost needs to be factored into the buy choice.

Maintenance

Maintenance costs and efforts have a major impact on the performance and adoptability of a software, and hence should form valuable criteria of the buying choice. In case the software is hosted at the company’s end, it is of utmost importance of the customer that the software be available online at all times, or the “uptime”. Uptimes are covered under the “service level agreement” when you buy a software and range from 98% to 99.99%. A minimum uptime of 99% is what one must look for.

It is also valuable how much preservation a software requires. Will specialized personnel need to be hired to maintain and run the software? Or is it low maintenance or maintenance free?

The company’s preservation is also valuable. Efforts to constantly improve upon the software underline a commitment to providing you quality service. Are bugs fixed quickly and on an ongoing basis? Are they only releasing a software and not updating it? One should develop a habit of keeping up with the company newsletter, new release notes or the “what’s new” section on their site. Periodic newsletters and a “what’s new” section (which keeps getting updated) are indicative of a dynamic company constantly looking to improve.

4) Familiarity

The “feel” of the software is another valuable criterion. Us software users are habituated creatures for whom changing a software is as hard as changing our favorite coffee or newspaper. The software should keep with the basic layout and navigation schemes we are used to. This makes for quicker transition.

One excellent way is to compare with the OS in which we would use the software. Does it have the same basic schema as the OS environment? A software with Mac schema on Windows wouldn’t sit that well. Another way could be to compare with other softwares which we are used to. If you are switching from an expensive software to a cheaper one, choosing a software with a similar “feel” would make significance. Does it retain most of the main features you are used to? Is it simple to get to those features?

5) Security

Security is a top consideration because in many cases the software company will be handling information critical to us – business, financial or personal data. We need to be triply assured that the sanctity of our data will be preserved and there are no risks of it life at sea or falling into incorrect hands. This factor requires some research on the client data handling systems and practices of the software provider.

What protection features does the provider have?

Data encryption is the practice followed by warring sides during WW2 to protect the secrecy of their messages. It is now used by most companies follow to protect the integrity of their clients’ information. Encryption is the process of coding information so that it is unreadable by anyone but those who have the key. There are different types of encryption, each of which is associated with a different level of security. DAS is one level, which was earlier used extensively but is now known to have vulnerabilities. 128 bit encryption is offered by companies offering top notch security.

Password protection is another valuable facet of security. What is the strength of the software to withstand manual and automated attempts to hack your password and access your information? The ability of the logic to accurately detect a hacking attempt and lock up in calculate is valuable.

Data Backup

In extreme cases of logic breakdown caused by a facility fire, natural disaster or technical hiccup etc, it is valuable that your data is frequently and adequately backed up and not stored at a single facility. Excellent company data backup practices ensure that even if your local computer crashes, your data is safe and accessible through the software.

Particular factors are to be considered in backup practices. The first is the frequency of backups. If there is a lingering gap, there is a possibility of data life at sea in intermittent periods. Secondly, what are the security arrangements at the facilities where your data resides? Is it manned and guarded by security personnel? What other systems are in place to protect the data? Is there a excellent firewall? What is the protection against virus attacks? What procedures are in place for disaster management?

All this requires research, and the extensiveness of the research depends on the sensitivity of the data we will be entrusting the software provider with. A personal mail program does not require the same sort of security as softwares handling banking or business information.

Track Record

As with company background, a small research on the security track record makes significance. Has the company ever been vulnerable to attacks previous to? What were the losses? How did the company react? How many years has the company had a excellent record. New companies will most likely have a clean record, but that isn’t necessarily indicative of excellent security practices.

The Server Logic

The server logic where the sensitive data really lies is very valuable. This information will mostly be available in the terms of agreement. Is it state-of-the-art? Is it in step with the latest in the market?

The server infrastructure could be owned by the software provider themselves or outsourced to a dedicated national network providing hosting solutions. Outsourced hosting is a excellent thing because dedicated hosting companies have extensive expertise and infrastructure in protecting data, often handling critical data of Fortune 500 companies. This frees up the software provider to concentrate on the software itself.

The company force not have an elaborate setup at all, running the software and processing data through computers set up in the garage somewhere acting as servers. This should get your alarm bells ringing! The protection of your data could well depend on a baseball flying through the door.

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