When an organisation selects a Business System to operate, it is making a decision that will accompany it for a long time (typically years) and not only that. It will be “marrying” a partner that will undoubtedly influence its future success or failure.
There will always be a way out of a wrong decision, but as in all cases, it would have been preferable to select well before having to incur the cost, wear and tear of changing what could have been decided well from the beginning.
When speaking with managers of medium and large companies, they have confessed to me that their decision process was undoubtedly influenced by the fame or recognition of the brand in the market, but also that they have encountered unpleasant surprises along the way that they did not expect longer implementation times, hidden costs, unexpected expenses, standard functionalities that turned out to be “extra cost”.
In short, a promise that was half fulfilled and that cost and took twice or three times what was planned. The result? A wrong decision that is very expensive and that they will have to carry for a long time.
That is why ten questions could serve as a guide before making this decision, and if it has already been made, they will also be helpful to evaluate whether you have the correct solution or should consider a change:
- Is the software that I am evaluating adapted to my company? Each company is different and has or will develop competitive advantages that must be maintained. Your Business SW should then be a tailored suit, unique for your company, which helps you do things as you usually do or works for you. The company should not adapt to the SW. Business Software must be 100% adaptable to your company’s characteristics and specific requirements.
- In addition to the previous point, it is equally important that in the future, it can also adapt to new needs, changes in legislation, changes in the business line, new lines of business, mergers or even a new way of doing things. . Everything changes and your Business SW should allow it too.
- Is the SW that I have or am evaluating complex, does it have different modules, and does it need experts to handle it? A complex solution does not mean that it is better, quite the opposite. A Business SW should be a tool that helps the company function efficiently, not something complicated, sophisticated, and has interconnection points that could fail at the worst moment and when you need it most. Running a company is already a challenge, and SW should not add complexity.
- All companies have monthly and annual closings, quarterly or with different dates due to some corporate regulation. The closing process should not stop the operation, suspend billing, or prevent the organisation from working 100% in all areas (including financial areas) since blocking it partially or means an economic and financial impact on significant flows. Many SWs require users to stop functions for several days “by the close” per month.
- How long does the implementation of the business SW take is an important point to consider, because on many occasions once the contracts are signed and the process begins, the consulting firms begin to program certain parts of the system, interconnect modules and this may take longer than expected with the additional cost it represents. We will have to add unexpected costs and even modules that we had not considered, which means an additional expense. When you have 50% progress, and this happens, you are trapped, and you have no other option but to get a budget for that unexpected “surprise”, which is very common.
- How you charge for the use of the SW should also be a matter of analysis. When the solutions run on-site (on the user’s servers), it will depend on the number of named users, the number of transactions, the number of processors, the size of processors, plus everything they can think of, making it challenging to calculate control and pay.
When the solution is in the cloud, it is easier to calculate, but it does not guarantee that it is fair since they will typically be charging for all the named users, including many who use it little or nothing. All of this makes it more expensive. - The only certainty is that there will be changes in the future: in the legislation, in the% of taxes, in the way of billing, collecting and in the form of reporting the company information to the authorities. Knowing how much it will cost to make these changes and how long they will take is when companies are at risk and with a massive dependence on arbitrary charges. Sometimes “your version” no longer supports more changes, and a significant change will be necessary.
- The most valuable thing for companies are not assets but their information. The business solution must then have end-to-end security, have advanced, bank-grade schemes to protect unauthorised access, and have frequent backups in the event of a disaster. All this, without making it difficult to operate or the cost making it something that prevents you from having it.
- Does the company use Excel sheets to fill in the gaps that the business solution cannot fill? It is common in organisations of all sizes, but it represents risks of loss, traceability, security… Shouldn’t the Business Software that already paid a lot of money do that?
- Once the information is protected, we must be able to take advantage of it for decision-making. Does your Business Solution have flexible and friendly reporting modules that allow Management to make decisions at the moment with reliable information and online? Do you have information cubes that in seconds show you the company’s accounts from various angles and respond to results by product, by business line, by region, by branch, by customer? All this in a simple way and at the moment?
We want to help you to be successful, to start the day calmly with a coffee knowing that everything is fine and that you can ask your Digital Assistant by voice: “Give me yesterday’s results” or “Tell me how much we have in the box and accounts receivable.”
All this and more is possible with LOVIS. We offer the next generation EOS (Enterprise Operating System) that after listening to the needs, we design based on what our clients needed and for this reason, they earn CERTAINTY every day:
CERTAINTY in implementation times and costs (from 4 to 6 months maximum).
CERTAINTY in costs (clear from the beginning and with a fair charge: only by previously agreed on concurrent users).
CERTAINTY in flexibility and adaptability, since we will not write another code line, the software is ready to work. We only have to configure it, which will also be the case when you need more functionalities, more users or add other lines of business.
CERTAINTY in its simplicity: we offer simple solutions to complex problems, with processes from beginning to end, integrating the different areas of the company in a single version, but tailored to your company.
CERTAINTY in security, because our solution runs in the cloud, has bank-grade protection and runs in 3 secure AWS locations, also has a full backup every 4 hours, in the event of a disaster.
Starting a conversation without obligation with LOVIS is very simple. After a Diagnosis, we will show you live, with your data and your needs resolved, what your company would look like with that ease of operation, without having made any investment or commitment up to that point.
When do you want to talk with one of our specialists to talk in more detail and make a diagnosis at no cost to your company? We want to accompany you in your success. Let us help you.
Carlos Calvo
Commercial Director ES
