With over 1,000 business software applications available, how do you select the right one for your business needs?

With over 1,000 applications to choose from – how can you select the right system?

Chief Executive

Business Software Intelligence Ltd.

Dennis Keeling

© Business Software Intelligence Ltd Slide 2October 09

Background

� 1983 - formed consultancy

� Developed means of evaluating business systems

� Financial Times, Daily Telegraph, US Journal of Acc ountancy, AccountancyAge

� BBC ‘The Software Show’, CNN, FT TV, Sky

� Author: Thesaurus of Business Software

� Consultant – software package selection

� Author: Corporate Financial Systems - Ovum

� Business Age:- ‘acknowledged as the world’s leading authority on b usiness & accounting systems’

� Founder, Chief Executive & President - BASDA,

� Business Application Software Developers Associatio n

� Formed Business Software Intelligence Ltd

� Created www.softcomparison.com - UK’s first software comparison web-site

Clients include:-

Argos, Audit Commission, UK Benefits Agency, British

Waterways, BUPA, BT, Eagle Star Insurance, Eaton, EBR D,

ECC, Eimskip, Equifax, ESB, IBM, Iceland Airways, K PMG,

Laporte, Land Securities, Logica, Microsoft, National Children's

Home, Ovum, Rhone Poulenc, RNLI, Toyota, Unipart,

Whitbread, Yorkshire Water



Current Environment

� Tight financial control

� Limited IT budgets

� Complex legacy systems

� Business reorganisation

� Rationalisation in the software industry

� Move to web-based ‘cloud’ architectures


Reasons for change

� Access to management information

� Reduction in head-count by replacing manual process es.

� Improved office efficiency – reduction in operating costs.

� Improved cash-flow – tighter credit control, reducti on in stock etc.

� eBusiness – eInvoicing, Purchase-to-Pay

� Web-site integration to back-office system

� Reorganisation – shared services.

� Competitive advantage – improved sales.

� Statutory – Legal, Regulation, Tax,


Business software market - UK

� 1,000+ different business applications

� Large proportion in ‘ maintenance-mode ’

� Less than 100 enterprise-wide applications (ERP)

� Majority are specialist software providers - bolt-on s

� Many sell their applications directly

� 1,000+ software resellers

� Many selling ‘suites of applications’

- Access, Iris, MS Dynamics, Oracle, SAP, Sage etc


Why buy specialist applications?

� Add new software without upgrading existing systems

� Leave existing software applications intact

� Leave legacy data intact

� Leave existing IT infrastructure intact

� Minimum disruption to existing systems

� Cost effective - positive ROI


What systems exist?

� ‘Approved’ bolt-ons

� main legacy system supplier

� Internet search - Google

� Specialist software selection web-sites

� Accounting & Finance 365

� Evaluation Centre

� SoftComparison.com


Specify your requirements

Basic - specialist requirements


Simple comparison


Integration requirements

� Packages to integrate with

� Accounting System

� Invoicing

� Fixed Assets

� HR System

� Web-site shopping cart


Systems requirements


Service requirements


Sizing & Pricing


Vertical Market Specialist Functionality


Selection Process

� Prepare specification of requirements - 10 pages max

� Send Request For Information (RFI) to selected supp liers - 10 max

� Review their replies

� Select 2-3 as short-list - reject the others

� Review the software applications

� Select a preferred supplier

� Undertake detailed demonstrations

� Carry-out in-house testing

� Take up references

� Finalise the contract

Software Application Vendors

There are several ways of purchasing software:-

� PC Store – off the shelf products – poor support

� PC Dealer – specialist knowledge

� Reseller – specialist vertical market extensions

� Author – only implement own product

� Consultancy – configuration & implementation


How to chose the right vendor



Package selection criteria

Dennis Keeling’s Software Evaluation Criteria

� Software Author

� Product

� Functionality

� Look and Feel

� Flexibility

� Integration

� Cost

� Technology


The Software Author

� Company Stability

� Length of time in business

� Steady growth,

� New products?

� Consolidator?

� UK based?

� Financial

� Turnover / profit

� Debt (customer problems)

� Analyst / credit agency reports

� Share price movement

� Existing Customers

� Similar to you? - size, location, type of

business

� full list of customers as references?

� Do the references speak highly of the

supplier?

� Have they had the sort of support you will

need?

� Google search


The Product

� Product strategy?

� Development or Maintenance mode?

� Which Product are we talking about?

� Is current version stable or is it full of bugs?

� Is this version released?

� How many live users?

� Is this standard product or heavily configured?

� Frequency, ease of use and cost of upgrades


Functionality / Flexibility

� Do other similar organisations use this?

� Range of modules, templates, portals

� Scalability - grow and change with your business?

� Can the package fulfil all the requirements?

� How much relies on configuration?

� What is the risk, cost and effort of required Packa ge customisation


Usability / Integration

� Usability

� Does it have the right “look and feel”?

� Will data entry be an issue?

� Try it out with potential users.

� Integration

� How well will it integrate with existing applicatio ns?

� Who will undertake the integration?

� Reference site with similar configuration.


Cost

� Not only Software licenses - but also:-

� Database

� Hardware & operating system

� other integral components - MS Office, Citrix etc.

� How easy and quick to implement?

� Implementation - Training, Consultancy, Configuratio n

� Ongoing Support & Maintenance - In-house team)

� Life Cycle Cost, including upgrades

� Cost per seat from ?

� Return on Investment (ROI)

Specification of Requirements

� Short overview of your specialist requirements

� - No more than 10 pages long

� - Scope of your project

� - Sizing – system - users

� - Timescales

� - Budget

� - send to 10 suppliers


Free Detailed Specification

� Free Service – www.SoftComparison.Com

� - save your specific capability-grid requirements

� - edit your requirements

� - select up to 10 suitable suppliers

� - e-mail them a link to your specification for a quot ation

� Free personal service at Softworld

� – AF422 - SoftComparison.Com



Summary

� 1,000 packages to choose from

� 1,000 suppliers to buy from

� As stressful as buying a house

� Buyer Beware

� Test before you buy

� You may need expert help to ensure your

company is making the right decision

� If at first you don’t succeed

- your successor will try again.


Contacts

Dennis Keeling – Business Software Surveyor

Chief Executive

Business Software Intelligence Ltd

Tel: 01494 863344

E-mail: [email protected]

Software Comparison: www.softcomparison.com
